Broken Remnants
by tahmtahm
Summary: This is the sequel to The Ripple Effect. What was the fall out after everything was said and done? OC that is El-Aurian. If you haven't seen the movie - don't read this just yet. Chapter 10 - The Gathering Storm.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters, only my OC - Kaitlyn Donovan.

This is the sequel to _The Ripple Effect_. It would be insightful to read it, but not completely necessary - though you may wish to at least read the last few chapters.

Query - What was the fall out after everything was said and done?

If you haven't seen the movie, hold off on reading this until after you have done so.

**Broken Remnants**

Prologue and Chapter 1

**Prologue** - Last scene from _The Ripple Effect_

_U.S.S. Enterprise_.

Leonard McCoy pulled himself off the floor when the ship stopped shaking. They had captured John Harrison on Kronos, then he'd revealed his true identity. Leonard clicked on the nearest monitor and waited for the communication to go through. _He had to tell her what they'd found out before the Admiral managed to blow the Enterprise up to bits._ "Get me Acting Captain Donovan on the _Daystrom_." he requested.

Kaitlyn's image came on the screen, "Leonard - what's wrong?" she questioned quickly when she saw his expression.

"I think we're in over our heads." he admitted. He quickly explained what had happened and everything they'd learned in the last few hours.

Kaitlyn could feel herself growing angry. She had worked so hard to bring credibility and higher moral standards into the Section when she'd been Director of Operations - and now she found out she'd been duped, tricked, and manipulated by the very organization that she put her name upon years ago. "Leonard, we're still days away - but I'll see what I can do." She was frustrated that there wasn't anything she could do at the moment to help them when their lives were hanging on a thread.

Leonard nodded. He looked up quickly as the ship shook again, when he looked back at the screen, it was black. He closed his eyes tightly and prayed they'd get out of this alive.

Kaitlyn blinked rapidly when the connection was terminated and the screen went black. She quickly thought over their options as she headed back to the Bridge and opened her communicator, "Donovan to Engineering."

"How may I assist you, Captain?" Sorek's calm voice questioned over the communicator.

"Get ready to engage the trans-warp drive." she said as she entered the Bridge. She saw the questioning looks from the Bridge crew.

"Captain, we have not completed all of the trial runs. To engage the trans-warp drive for more than a few hours could potentially do more harm than good to the ship and crew." Sorek stated.

"How much closer to Earth?" she questioned him.

Sorek quickly did the calculations, "We would be there in under four hours."

Kaitlyn frowned, four hours could be three hours too late - but they had to try. "Sorek, prep the drive and get your team ready. Any signs of problems, notify me immediately." she ordered.

"Aye, Captain." Sorek quickly went to work in Engineering.

Kaitlyn walked over to Lieutenant Relch, their Navigator, and stood beside him. "As soon as Engineering gives the go ahead, engage the trans-warp drive and get us to Earth as quick as possible."

Lieutenant Relch nodded, "Yes, Ma'am."

Kaitlyn looked to Commander Tala at her Weapons' post questionably.

Tala nodded in understanding, "All weapons will be ready when we arrive."

Kaitlyn patted the Andorian woman's shoulder, then went and sat down in the Captain's Chair. She took a deep breath and collected her thoughts on what she needed to say to the crew of this very unique ship. She had become well acquainted with all of the crew and felt they trusted her. But one wrong word, one misconstrued connotation in her message and she might have a conflict break out between the species that still didn't completely trust one another. She pushed the button to open the comm system throughout the ship and carefully began to explain the situation they were racing into.

**Broken Remnants**

Chapter 1

_U.S.S. Daystrom_ - 30 minutes from Earth

Acting Captain Kaitlyn Donovan stood up and walked over to Lieutenant Hotch at Communications, "Try hailing the _Enterprise_ again." she requested.

"Aye, Captain." the young man said as he quickly tried hailing the _Enterprise_. They'd been trying for the past few hours, to no avail. He smiled and glanced at Donovan, "Ma'am, they are receiving our hail."

Kaitlyn Donovan's heart started racing. She had been thinking the worst had befell them when they hadn't been able to reach them since her connection with McCoy had been cut off almost four hours ago. "Put it through to the Conference room." she requested as she left the Bridge. She clenched her fists as she came into the Conference room. For all of her one hundred and thirty-six years - though she only appeared to be in her late thirties - she'd never felt this unnerved and shaken. Her Mother's species, the El-Aurians, were a peaceful and calm people - but all she wanted to do right now was scream. She quickly readjusted the clip that held her light brown hair up. She couldn't remember when she'd put her hair up, but she had to make sure she appeared presentable - like an Acting Captain should look when she answered the hail.

She needed to know that they were alright. She closed her green eyes tightly as she tried to calm her nerves. She would have been with them on the _Enterprise_, if she hadn't been transferred onto the _Daystrom_ as the First Contact Officer to help with the transition of this very unique crew.

The _Daystrom_ had all of the advanced technology Nero had sold off while he was awaiting for the arrival of Ambassador Spock into this universe. In effort to avoid a war, she had suggested that all Federation members, and a contingent of Klingons and Romulans study the advanced technology together. It had been precarious and at times tensions ran high between the species on board, but the past eleven months had been very successful.

She opened her eyes as the monitor beeped that the communication was incoming.

Commander Spock appeared on the screen and she immediately knew that something was wrong, "What happened?" she asked.

Commander Spock efficiently relayed the events of the past few hours to her. He watched her carefully, "Doctor McCoy is treating Captain Kirk with a serum he developed from Khan's blood. The treatment has shown positive results."

"So, Jim is alive?" she wanted reassurance that she wasn't misconstruing what he'd told her.

"Yes, though he is unconscious. Doctor McCoy said the Captain will probably stay that way until his body has healed." Spock stated.

"What about Khan - where is he?" she questioned.

"He is in a secured facility on Earth, under heavy guard." Spock noticed that she looked like she wanted to ask him something else, but hesitated. He guessed her query, "Doctor McCoy is fine, he was relatively undamaged from recent events. He is with Captain Kirk at Starfleet Medical."

Kaitlyn nodded slowly as the tight feeling around her heart lessened its grip. She took a deep breath, "How much damage?"

"We are docked in the shipyard currently - we sustained heavy damage. Forty-seven crewmembers died and almost everyone else has some type of injury. I estimate at least six months for repairs." Spock glanced over his shoulder as someone said something to him. "One moment, please." He muted the call for a minute, then turned back to her. "My apologies. When will the _Daystrom_ arrive to Earth?"

"Thirty minutes."

He raised an eyebrow in surprise, "I thought you were days away - how will you arrive so quickly?"

"We have a trans-warp drive we're testing out. It's working great, thank goodness." she smiled slightly.

"Do you mean you hadn't finished the trial runs on it, before you engaged the trans-warp drive?" He did not understand the human proclivity to test their luck that something would work. "Apparently, you are more like Captain Kirk than I realized."

Kaitlyn shrugged, "I'll take that as a compliment. What can we do to help you when we arrive?" she offered their assistance.

"Thank you for the offer, I will send you a list of our most immediate needs." Spock nodded. "Would you like me to inform Doctor McCoy that you will be arriving soon?"

She shook her head, "I'll surprise him."

"Doctor McCoy does not like surprises." he pointed out.

"I think he'll like this one. We will hail you as soon as we arrive." Kaitlyn said, then ended the transmission. Kaitlyn sat back in the chair. She was thankful that the _Enterprise_ was out of danger. She frowned. They wouldn't have been in danger in the first place, if they'd known the truth about the whole situation. She sent out another transmission and waited for an answer.

Admiral Robert Reed frowned slightly when his Mother appeared on his monitor in his office at Section 31 Headquarters in San Francisco, "We're a little busy here." he pointed out.

"When did you know the 'Khan' we confronted was not the real Khan?" she demanded.

Robert sighed, "I grew suspicious when Admiral Marcus seemed pleased that you found the _Botany Bay_ eleven months ago. I had a few of my people start digging around for information. I learned that they had discovered the _Botany Bay_ a few years ago."

"And the Khan we found - who was he?"

"Part of Khan's people. Marcus had their memories replaced to make them believe that he was Khan. Marcus left the _Botany Bay_ to be discovered, so that no one would know the real Khan was working for him. No one probably would have found out - if Khan hadn't gone rogue." Robert shook his head tiredly. "I'm sorry that you were deceived, Mother. We have Khan in one of Starfleet's Secured Facilities."

"Robert, the Section is supposed to protect us from all enemies - from outside, and from within. How did this happen? How did Marcus get away with building a ship like that?" she asked quietly, in order to control her growing anger with the whole situation.

"You know we have a lot of funding from our private companies. Marcus had been showing us a lot of intelligence that the Klingons were building up their fleet. He acquired a lot of support for funding." he explained.

Kaitlyn shook her head angrily, "Of course the Klingons are building up their fleet - they lost most of the one they had to Nero! You are the Head of Operations - you should have known about the ship, the weapons, and even the recruitment of Khan." She watched him carefully.

"Things have been run differently, ever since Admiral Marcus joined us as Head of Weapons Research and Development in the Section." Robert Reed knew his Mother was furious, he'd only seen her this mad a few times in his eighty years.

Kaitlyn closed her eyes and willed her blood pressure down by taking slow, deep breaths. She looked back up at the monitor, "Which facility is Khan being held at?"

Robert raised an eyebrow, "You know I can't tell you that." He wondered what she was going to do, because she had that look on her face. The one that use to make his Father cringe, because he knew she was about to stir up trouble. "Mother?"

"Robert, what is the one thing that your Father and I told you about the Section when they asked you to join them right out of the Academy?" she questioned him quietly.

Robert Reed sat back in the chair and swallowed hard, "To never trust what anyone tells me - to always check the facts myself." He remembered the conversation very well - because his Mother had been angry that they hadn't asked for _her_ permission to recruit him, because she had been Head of Operations then.

Kaitlyn Donovan nodded, then ended the transmission.

Admiral Robert Reed frowned at the blank screen. _She was going to come and clean house_. He knew she would be thorough, but she would also be fair in her assessment of each individual involved. He closed his eyes tiredly. He decided there was nothing more he could do here. He stood up slowly and walked to the outer office.

His Aide stood up quickly, "Sir?"

"Lieutenant, send the order for all nonessential personnel to go help out. Direct anyone with medical training to go to the hospitals, everyone else should go to the crash site and help out the emergency workers." he ordered.

"Yes, Sir." the Lieutenant quickly went to the Communications Center to send the order out.

XXXXX

Kaitlyn Donovan walked into Medical and went directly to Doctor Kor, "Is the Captain awake?" she inquired. She had ordered him to be woken up from his medically induced coma as soon as she'd had the trans-warp drive engaged.

Doctor Kor nodded as he noted the paleness of her features. He quickly ran a scanner over her and frowned, "Your blood pressure is very high, I need you to sit down for a few minutes." he indicated a biobed.

She waved him off, "I'll be okay. I'll sit down as I talk to the Captain." she promised and began to walk over to Andrew Jacob's bed. She pulled the stool over and sat down.

"How are they?" Captain Jacobs questioned as he had the bed raise him into a sitting position. He started to think the worst as he saw how pale she was and she just sat there for a few moments.

Kaitlyn realized she'd been lost in her thoughts and looked up quickly and explained the situation.

Andrew Jacobs nodded, "As soon as Commander Spock sends the list of their needs, start delegating who should go where."

"Yes, Sir."

"Kaitlyn, I'm glad they're okay." he said softly.

She nodded, "I am, too."

He looked over her carefully, "I know you didn't want this assignment - but I'm glad you were here with us."

Kaitlyn gave him a small smile, then patted his hand. "It has been a very challenging assignment." she admitted to her friend from back in Starfleet Academy.

Jacobs smiled, "Do you have a recommendation for First Officer from amongst the crew?"

"Commander Tala. She's been in command of her own ship. She's strong willed, but everyone knows she means business and they follow her lead." Kaitlyn recommended.

"I don't think Starfleet Command will approve a non Starfleet Officer to First Officer of _this_ ship." he frowned.

"It is a sign of trust. Besides, they've done it before - Sub Commander T'Pol was Captain Archer's First Officer." she pointed out.

"You're right." he nodded as he remembered. "As soon as we reach Earth and you've got our people assigned to their duties on the _Enterprise_, you're relieved for forty-eight hours."

"Thank you, Andrew." she stood up, then headed back to the Bridge.

XXXXX

Commander Spock waited patiently at the docking port for Commander Donovan to arrive. He nodded as she stepped on board the _Enterprise_. "It is good to see you, Commander." he said as they began walking down the corridor together.

Kaitlyn Donovan glanced at the Vulcan, "How are you doing, Commander?"

He stopped walking and raised an eyebrow at her question, "I am fine."

She, in turn, raised her eyebrow at his automatic response to her inquiry.

He glanced both ways to make sure they were alone before answering her, "I find myself unsettled." he admitted.

"That is normal." she nodded.

"For a Human."

She shook her head, "For anyone. I'm a jumble of nerves right now, and I don't think I'll calm down until I see Leonard myself." she admitted to the Vulcan First Officer.

Spock watched her closely, "Doctor McCoy _is_ okay." he reassured her.

She nodded as she pulled out her PADD as they started walking again, "I have assigned most of our crew an area in which to help." She looked up at him as he pulled out his PADD. "Will there be a problem with our varied species of crewmembers coming over here? Anyone have a grudge?" she questioned. She wouldn't put her crew in danger.

"I do not know of any grudges. I find it fascinating that you have managed to get all of the species to work together on the _Daystrom_. Perhaps we can discuss it at a later time." Commander Spock suggested.

Kaitlyn nodded, "Maybe in a week, when things have settled down." She looked up as they crossed the walkway and noted the dangling walkway above them. "Well, that needs to come down quick before it decides to come down on its own."

Spock nodded, "We have not been able to get the needed equipment in here, and the equipment we do have does not have a stable base to stay on."

Kaitlyn thought quickly to all of the equipment they had, then smiled. "We have a levitation platform that could hold up the walkway as it is detached."

"But how will you get it in, and then out with the walkway?" he inquired.

"We'll just transport it in, then transport all of it to a open spot in the cargo bay." she explained. She wondered if they were having the same problem with the wreckage on Earth. It would take some coordinating, but they could have all available transporters do the same thing with the wreckage of the ship and the buildings. She quickly typed in the suggestion and sent it to Admiral Durkin.

Commander Spock had watched her quickly type a message in her PADD, then looked back up at the walkway, "I believe your suggestion may work."

Kaitlyn opened her communicator, "Donovan to Admiral Kenmore." she requested.

"How can I help you?" Trip Tucker's Southern drawl came in loud and clear.

"Could you transport to my location, please? We have a dangling walkway over here, and I'd like for you to supervise the transporting in of the levitation platform." she explained.

"I'm already in the Transporter room - give me a moment." He nodded to the Transporter Operator and appeared beside her a few moments later. He stretched out his hand to the Vulcan First Officer, "Glad you're in one piece, Commander." He looked up and gave a low whistle, "That's something." He quickly made the calculations he'd need to get the levitation platform in the right spot. "We'll have to transport it in with the platform on, and someone running it. It will dip a bit, but we've got enough room to maneuver."

Commander Spock glanced quickly between the two of them, "The engine on the platform could malfunction while it is running as it goes through the transporter." he pointed out. Did they not see how dangerous this attempt would be?

Kaitlyn saw the look of confusion on Spock's face, "It will be fine - we've already done something like this before." She turned to the Engineer, "Have Telek run the platform." she directed. She saw him about to protest and she stopped him with a quick glance. She stepped closer to him, "You have been testing fate too much lately. Have Telek run the platform and you supervise."

Trip Tucker gave her one of his genuine smiles, "Okay." He glanced at Commander Spock, "I'll need a few of your people to help out."

"Yes, Admiral." Spock nodded and quickly called for a team of Engineers to meet Admiral Kenmore at the walkway.

"Any other structural damage like that?" she inquired as they started walking again.

"The outer hull damage is being repaired by the Dockyard Engineers while we keep the emergency bulkheads in place." he explained. He noted her anxiousness to get started. "You do not have to stay, I know you are anxious to see Doctor McCoy."

Kaitlyn glanced at him as they got on the turbolift, "You are mistaking my anxiousness to help you, with an eagerness to see him. It's been eleven months Commander, a few more hours won't matter."

XXXXX

Starfleet Medical

Commander Kaitlyn Donovan found her way to Captain Kirk's room relatively easy and she was surprised that it was as quiet as it was in the building. She smiled softly to herself as she saw Jim Kirk in the biobed, resting relatively peacefully and Leonard McCoy asleep precariously in the chair beside the bed.

She walked over to Jim and touched his face gently. She wanted to know from his point of view what had happened, and she wanted to check on his brain functions. She quickly scanned his memories and found that he was not having a restful recovery. She gently pushed his mind to start recalling all of the fond memories he'd had in the past year. She stepped back and watched him for a few more moments as she contemplated everything she learned and tried to contain the emotional overload she'd felt from him. She took a deep breath, then focused her attention on Leonard as she slowly walked over to him. She rubbed his arm gently.

His eyes fluttered, then snapped open. His disorientation quickly went away as he saw her and a grin came over his face. He pulled her into his lap and kissed her desperately. He smiled and ran his hand along her cheek, "I'm so glad you're back."

Kaitlyn leaned her head into his touch, "So am I." She kissed him gently on the lips and smiled. "Can you leave, or do you need to stay?" she questioned.

He sighed, "They don't have anyone to spare to keep a watchful eye on Jim."

Kaitlyn stood up, "I brought five of our Doctors with me, I'm sure Doctor Kor can watch over him." She stepped out into the corridor, then a large Klingon came back in with her.

Leonard stood up quickly and looked over the Klingon Doctor carefully, not sure what to think at the moment. Kaitlyn had told him their doctor was very knowledgeable on the treatments for all of the species on the _Daystrom_.

Kaitlyn introduced them, "Doctor McCoy, this is Doctor Kor."

The men shook hands.

Kor gave Leonard a grin, "Kaitlyn has told me much about you. It is good to finally meet you in person."

Leonard glanced between Kaitlyn and the Klingon, "Well, she's had very good things to say about you."

Kor laughed loudly, "And probably a few choice words - she doesn't like to be taken off duty."

Kaitlyn looked at Kor, "Doctor, just because I don't necessarily like the treatments, doesn't mean I don't appreciate everything you do for us." She smiled, then changed the subject to the matter at hand. "Doctor Kor, Captain Jim Kirk is requiring a watchful eye and the hospital has no one to spare."

Kor stood up straight, he recognized this as an honor to watch over Jim Kirk. "I will keep a watch over him and guard him with my life."

Leonard McCoy raised an eyebrow, "I don't think anyone will try and attack him, but he is in a critical stage of recovery." The two doctors moved closer to the bed. "We have already given him a blood transfusion, and I have given him a serum developed with Khan's blood. His body is healing, it's just slow going."

"How are his brain functions?" Doctor Kor questioned.

"Normal, and there have been no adverse reactions to him being placed in cryostasis for a few hours." Leonard reported.

"His memories are intact." Kaitlyn stated from behind them.

They both turned around and looked at her questionably.

"You read his mind?" Leonard asked, wondering when she'd done that, then just as quickly realized it was before she woke him up.

"I wanted to make sure there was no damage. He's fine, though he was having bad dreams - so I led him to happier thoughts." she explained.

Kor nodded, "I am glad to hear there is no neural damage." He stood tall, "Do you have any instruction for the night?" he asked McCoy.

Leonard picked up the PADD, "This is it. Not too much to do, but they have a lot of other patients to attend to." He nodded to the Klingon Doctor, "I thank you for relieving me."

"I am honored to watch over your Captain." He glanced at Kaitlyn, "Besides, she would gouge my eyes out if I didn't."

Kaitlyn gaped at him, "I would not! I only said that when you. . ." she stopped herself. Some things were better left alone. She looked over him closely, "I do appreciate this, Kor."

"You'd better remember that Blood Wine you promised me." Kor turned his attention to the monitors. "Go on - you're bothering me." he dismissed them with a slight wave of his hand.

Leonard glanced back at Jim's room as he walked down the corridor with her, "Are you sure he'll be okay?"

Kaitlyn smiled and patted his arm, "Yes, Jim will be fine. Doctor Kor will call if anything comes up. If you're agreeable, we could stay on the _Daystrom_."

Leonard McCoy grinned as they stepped onto the lift. He moved closer to her, "Are you propositioning me?"

Kaitlyn ran her hands over the sides of his all white uniform, "I'm very tempted to ditch the ship and get a hotel room." she admitted. Being this close to him and being able to touch him was about ready to undo the restraint she'd been able to maintain.

Leonard stepped away when the lift indicated they'd arrived to the first floor. He held onto her hand as he led her to the Transporter room. "Tempting as that may be, hotels don't have the ability to transport us here if we need to get back quick." He glared at the transporter technician as they stepped in the room. "Two to transport to the _Daystrom_." he snapped.

Kaitlyn raised her eyebrow at Leonard as she handed her credentials over to the technician, "Do you have to bark at everyone?" she questioned.

He shrugged.

Kaitlyn turned to the technician, "I apologize for Doctor McCoy, he's had a very stressful time with the recent events on the _Enterprise, _and he has a slight paranoia of the transporter."

"I understand, Ma'am." the young Lieutenant looked over his console. "You are authorized to beam aboard." he acknowledged.

Leonard frowned at her when they walked over to the platform, "Did you have to tell him?" The kid could wipe him out of existence with the push of a button.

She shrugged.

They rematerialized on the_ Daystrom_ and Leonard immediately patted himself down. He looked at her quickly, "Did he do that on purpose? I know we were in the buffer longer than we should have been!"

Transporter Chief Morris stepped away from his console and gave a quick glance to Donovan.

Kaitlyn turned to Leonard, "That is actually our protocol on the _Daystrom_. Our transporters check for weapons and contaminants during transport." she explained calmly.

"And you didn't think to tell me_ before_ we transported?" he frowned. He didn't like it, but it was an advancement that should be put on all ships. He glanced at the technician, "That was real fun." he said sarcastically.

Kaitlyn smiled at Morris, "Ignore him. Have a good evening, Tom."

"You too, Ma'am." he said as he went back to his console.

Kaitlyn led Leonard through the quiet corridors.

"Where is everyone?" he whispered.

"On the _Enterprise_, or asleep. There is a minimal crew maintaining the _Daystrom_." she explained as they stepped in the lift.

"Captain Jacobs is back in charge?" he questioned as they arrived to her floor.

"Yes, Kor released him for light duty as few hours ago."

They nodded to the few crewmembers that were heading for their quarters to get some much needed sleep.

Kaitlyn's communicator beeped. "Salas to Donovan."

She quickly opened the communicator as she entered the code for the door to her quarters to open. "Go ahead Salas."

"Ma'am, the first shift has returned from the _Enterprise_ and the second shift have all reported in. Admiral Kenmore and Commander Sorek are requesting to work for a few more hours before they head back." the Lieutenant explained.

"Very well. Please tell the Admiral and Commander Sorek they are only allowed four more hours because their next shift starts in twelve." Kaitlyn directed.

"Aye, Ma'am. I'll relay your orders. Salas out." he replied quickly

Leonard came in and looked around her quarters. It was set up pretty much like her Enterprise quarters, but it was a lot bigger. "Got enough room?"

She shrugged, "It was a perk for becoming Acting Captain - they insisted that I move in here."

Leonard realized belatedly that he hadn't stopped by and gotten a change of clothes before they'd come here. "Damn it! I didn't bring another uniform to change into for tomorrow." he shook his head in frustration. He didn't want to have to leave and then come back.

Kaitlyn smiled and indicated the bathroom, "Then aren't you glad we have our own sonic cleaning units in each bathroom? Just hang your uniform in it and it will be cleaned." She walked around him as she headed to the bedroom, "I do like the way that white uniform fits on you."

"I'm not a model." he said dryly as he headed for the bathroom to change out of his uniform.

She came in the bathroom and smiled at his bare torso, then handed him a pair of gym shorts and t-shirt. "You could be."

He glanced down at the items, "Hey - these are mine!" He looked up at her, "You've had them? I accused Jim of hiding them from me."

Kaitlyn ran her hands over his warm sides, "I know. He told me you were miffed for a few days." She kissed his chest, then smiled as she looked up at him.

He raised an eyebrow, "Why did you have my clothes?" he questioned.

"Because I wanted something of yours to wear when I missed you." she admitted.

Leonard tossed the clothes on the bathroom counter and pulled her closer. He kissed her slowly, enticing her as he deepened their kiss. "I missed you so much."

Kaitlyn kissed his cheek, "Would you care for a shower?" she suggested as she started to unzip his pants.

Leonard grinned as he removed her hands, "I can take my own pants off sweetheart - you start the water."

"But I like to help you." she batted her eyelashes at him innocently, teasing him as she ran her hands over his shoulders.

He shook his head, "You like to man handle me, then leave me frustrated - that's what you like to do."

Kaitlyn shrugged, then went over and turned on the shower water. She went over to the counter and took her hair down from its clip, then brushed it out. She smiled as he came up behind her and molded his body against hers.

"Why are you not out of those clothes yet?" he asked as he kissed her neck.

She turned around and smiled as she felt him against her, "Because I know you like to undress me and I don't mind being man handled by you."

His eyes narrowed and grew darker, he was about to reply when the comm in the bathroom beeped. He frowned.

"Chief Morris to Commander Donovan."

Kaitlyn reached around and pressed the button, "Go ahead Chief."

"Ma'am, Admiral Durkin is requesting our assistance in transporting debris from San Francisco." the Chief explained.

"Will we be able to maintain at least one transporter for our use to get crew back and forth?" she inquired as she saw an annoyed look start to come across Leonard's face. She rubbed his upper arm gently.

"Yes, Ma'am and we'll be sure that we stop transporting debris when we are transporting our crew on the other transporter pad." Morris laid out the precautions he wanted to put in place.

"That sounds good, Chief. Go ahead and get started. Donovan out." she clicked off the call and focused her attention on Leonard, "Now, where were we?"

He proceeded to take off her uniform off and dropped it on the floor and ran his hands over her body. "You're even more beautiful than I remember." he swallowed hard and kissed her lips gently.

Kaitlyn smiled and pulled him into the shower.

XXXXX

Kaitlyn rolled over and ran her hand over Leonard's chest. His heart was still beating hard, though it had slowed its pace a bit.

He patted her hand with his, "I know you've been up for at least as long as I have - where are you getting all of this energy from?" he questioned and forced himself to take slow, deep breaths.

She propped herself up on her elbow, then ran her other hand through his sweat glistened hair. "I don't sleep much, haven't in a month." she admitted.

"As much as I've completely enjoyed this, we really need to sleep. Besides, we can be with each other every night." he pointed out with a grin. Then he saw the look that crossed her face. He turned on his side so he was facing her, "What is it?"

Kaitlyn touched his cheek gently, "I will try to get back to you each night, but I might be gone for a few days at a time."

"What will you be doing?" he asked quietly, because he wasn't really sure he wanted to know the answer.

"I am going to lift my retired status at Section 31 and investigate everything that went on."

Leonard sighed softly, "Are you going to talk to Khan?"

"Yes."

"Be careful around him. I'll come with you, if you want me to." he offered.

"I'll be fine. I will need to review the blood analysis of him that you did, and the serum you made from his blood." she requested.

Leonard nodded and pulled her closer to him. He closed his eyes and kissed her forehead. "Promise me that you'll watch your back when you're investigating them."

She leaned her head against his chest and closed her eyes, "I promise."

XXXXX

TBC.

Reviews are greatly appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters, only my OC - Kaitlyn Donovan.

This is the sequel to _The Ripple Effect_. It would be insightful to read it, but not completely necessary - though you may wish to at least read the last few chapters.

Query - What was the fall out after everything was said and done?

**Broken Remnants**

Chapter 2

Commander Kaitlyn Donovan looked up slowly from her PADD as she headed down the long corridor of the Secured Starfleet facility. Security had been tight, but her credentials had gotten her this far.

She'd been disturbed by the analysis of Khan's blood and the reaction that it had on the tribble and on Jim Kirk. She'd read over all of the information Leonard McCoy had compiled and found she had more questions that only _he_ could answer.

She came to the last security check point and looked over the two young Lieutenants.

"Can we help you, Ma'am?" one of them asked as he ran a scanner over her.

"I'm here to speak to the prisoner." Kaitlyn stated simply.

The guard frowned, "Commander Donovan, you are not on the list of authorized persons to have contact with the prisoner. Who authorized this visit?"

Commander Kaitlyn Donovan clasped her hands and PADD loosely behind her back to appear non-threatening. "I did, on my own authority." She let out a slow breath, "I do not want to cause any problems, I just need answers. You may contact your supervisors and tell them that I am here and speaking to the prisoner." she stated. "ELSIE, override code Alpha Omega Delta authorization KDR 247." she commanded.

A moment later she was transported inside the secured room. "ELSIE, this is a Priority One Situation. Lock out all authorization codes other than my own. Allow visual recording and access, but no audio recording." she instructed as she walked over to the partition of the prisoner's cell.

He stood up and walked closer to the partition. He was very curious about her method of entry into the room. He was sure there was a shielding around it that prevented transporting.

"Priority One Situation understood. Good morning, General Donovan Reed." the computer security system acknowledged, in a simulated female voice.

Kaitlyn smiled slightly at her old moniker, "Good morning, ELSIE." She stopped in front of the transparent partition and watched the man look over her closely.

"You are the daughter of Trian?" he inquired - he had immediately recognized the striking resemblance.

"Yes." Kaitlyn nodded, the low resonance of his baritone voice was both calming and chilling at the same time.

"I loved your Mother. Where is she? I'd like to see her again." he stated.

"She was killed when I was four." Kaitlyn found it eerie how the conversation was similar to the one she'd had previously - like you couldn't take the man out of the memory.

His eyes narrowed, "Who killed her? Is he still alive?" he demanded.

"He has been dead for many years, by my own hands." she explained.

He nodded and seemed to relax slightly, "You are a good daughter." He crossed his arms and watched her again. "I find it fascinating how you got in here - past the guards."

Kaitlyn shrugged, "Only I have authorization to transport in here." She changed the topic, "I have a few questions to ask you."

He gave her a wry smile, "I suppose I should at least hear you out, since you will undoubtedly get in trouble for locking everyone else out of this room."

She shrugged, "I don't mind getting in trouble every once in awhile. What would you be most comfortable me calling you?"she questioned as she picked up a chair from against the wall and put it close to the partition that separated them.

"Khan will be fine."

"ELSIE, provide Khan an appropriate chair." she authorized.

A black, plastic chair materialized in his cell.

Khan nodded his thanks and moved the chair closer to the partition, just as she had done. He indicated for her to sit down first, then he did.

She leaned forward and frowned, "You must think that we are all corrupt and have a hidden agenda. I apologize for the way you have been used and manipulated."

Khan crossed his arms, "I find it curious that you are apologizing to me when no one else has."

"That's because they are too busy covering their asses - they can't even begin to start apologizing because they don't want to take the blame, the responsibility for you and your situation." she explained.

He watched her closely, "And yet you are willing to take responsibility - why?"

Kaitlyn shrugged, "If I hadn't left my former job, this would not have happened. So yes, I will take responsibility for this and I will correct the situation." she sighed softly.

Khan sat back and contemplated what she'd said, "You use to run this organization - that's why you have special access." he realized.

She nodded, "I did oversee this organization a long time ago - with a much higher standard of morality. Many things have changed over the years and I'm not pleased."

Khan studied her again, "The computer called you General, though you are wearing a Commander's uniform - how should I address you?"

"You may call me Kaitlyn." she put her PADD on the floor. "ELSIE, remote access my PADD and begin analyzing the data." she requested.

"Request acknowledged." the system replied.

"Has anyone asked you to detail what you were assigned to do?" Kaitlyn inquired.

"No, in fact, I have been left remarkably alone. I request reading material and they bring it to me with my meals." he shrugged.

"I would like to know what happened, from the moment you were woken up." she requested.

He quickly calculated the risks of telling her the truth and weighed it against possibly not gaining her support. He nodded and began to detail everything that had happened for almost an hour.

Khan looked up at her slowly, "They had suggested I find you - did you know that?"

"I heard a rumor." she nodded.

He leaned closer, "Do you know why? They only told me you were a threat."

Kaitlyn sat back in the chair, "Because of the position I had when I worked here, I could still come back and ask questions. I'm sure they were uncomfortable with that possibility." There was another possibility, but she was skeptical.

The secured system beeped, "Analysis complete." ELSIE stated.

"Report findings." Kaitlyn requested.

"Inquiry one - yes. Inquiry two - yes. Inquiry three - four hundred to five hundred years. Inquiry four - yes." ELSIE reported.

Kaitlyn let out a slow breath, "Thank you, ELSIE." She looked at Khan, considering whether she should tell him about the findings - or keep them to herself. If she was going to do what she needed to, she would need his cooperation. And, if she didn't tell him and he found out later, he would never trust her again. "I had ELSIE run a comparison of my DNA to yours."

"And what were your inquiries?" he leaned closer.

"Inquiry one - are we genetically similar? Inquiry two - is your genetic makeup that of Human and El-Aurian DNA that has been augmented and enhanced? Inquiry three - how long is your life expectancy, based on your genetic markers? Inquiry four . . ."

"Am I your brother?" he supplied.

Kaitlyn nodded. "I realized you may be related to me when I saw how your blood interacted and healed Kirk - it's the same thing mine does." she shrugged and picked up the PADD off the floor and held it loosely in her hand. She now realized why her Mother's friends had been so insistent that she not join Starfleet or the MACOs so long ago. Her Mother had gotten involved in human affairs and look what had happened! She frowned. None of her Mother's journals had mentioned anything about Khan or the Eugenics Wars. Though now that Kaitlyn thought about it, it seemed ridiculous that her Mother - who was a geneticist - hadn't documented that time period, because she had documented everything else in her seven hundred years of existence.

Khan watched as she frowned, "You are not pleased with the results?" he assumed.

Kaitlyn looked up slowly, "I'm not pleased that my Mother did not mention anything about this in her journals." She tilted her head slightly when she realized something, "You address our Mother as Trian - might I ask why?"

"I did not know she was my Mother. We were not raised in a typical fashion, we were created. She was my caretaker, my tutor, my doctor. I should have known she was more than that."

"Did you ever suspect?" she asked him quietly.

He let out a slow breath, "When she asked me to leave with her. She had found out their plans for us to overthrow the corrupt governments and bring peace to Earth forcibly. I was young - and everything I'd been taught and groomed for was to that purpose. I believed it was my destiny, so I told her no." Khan watched Kaitlyn, "I am sorry that you did not know Trian for as long as I did - she was a wonderful woman. Very caring and sensitive to the needs of others."

"Did you know she was El-Aurian?"

He shook his head, "No, but I knew she was different because she said she was going to live for a very long time. When did you find out?" he inquired.

"Not until I was 38, though this organization knew almost a decade before and never told me." she frowned again.

Khan lifted his chin, "So, they used you too." He thought carefully, "If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"

"One hundred and thirty-six."

"Do you have children?" he questioned.

Kaitlyn nodded, "Eight. I have nineteen grandchildren and twenty-seven great children currently."

He noted the absence of a wedding ring on her finger and the way she rubbed at the spot absently. It was obvious to him that her husband had died quite awhile ago, though how long he wasn't sure. "Do you keep in touch with them?"

Kaitlyn looked up slowly, "I have recently begun to write them more frequently, but I am not heavily involved in their lives." She glanced at the PADD in her hands, "When my late husband died, I just wanted to be left alone and not be reminded of all that I'd lost - that's when I left my former job." She hadn't ever verbalized to anyone the reason she'd picked up and moved to Vulcan all those years ago.

Khan continued to study her, "It must have been very hard." She had been very honest with him, "Why are you telling me all of this?"

Kaitlyn stood up and he followed suit. "I just wanted you to know you are not alone. Though I do not in any way condone what you have done, I believe I understand your actions."

Khan looked down at her, "Really?" he sneered. There was no way this woman could possibly understand.

Kaitlyn stepped closer to the partition. "You were created and groomed to be a warrior - vastly superior to humans in strength and intellect. Trained in hand to hand combat and weapons, molded to be able to understand and analyze the strategic vulnerabilities of your enemies. You were awoken, the lives of your crew were threatened unless you did what they demanded. I've been manipulated before and my families' lives have been threatened - I understand." She watched him, then clasped her hands behind her back. "I'm offering to be your Advocate. You will be tried for the crimes you are accused of, but I will make sure that everything that has happened is brought into light."

Khan considered her offer. "What do you get out of this?"

She quietly picked up the chair and put it back against the wall. She looked at him once more, "I will do my best to get things rolling and get you moved to another facility. I will also have your people moved to a better facility to watch over their cyrotubes to kept them functioning optimally."

Khan rushed to the partition, his eyes wide. "You mean they are still alive?" he demanded. His breathing quickened. He'd thought Commander Spock had them all killed when the torpedoes detonated.

Kaitlyn nodded. She hadn't realized they hadn't told him. They should have, because it was a way to keep him under control. "You should have been told, I apologize again." She glanced at her PADD as it vibrated as it reminded her she had another appointment. She watched as Khan walked slowly to his bench and sat down heavily. "I will be back to see you later this afternoon."

Khan glanced at her and nodded. He was having trouble at the moment adjusting to the fact that his people were still alive. "May I see them?" he questioned softly.

"I will see what I can do." Kaitlyn glanced up slightly, "ELSIE, on my command allow previous authorizations to continue. Dematerialize the chair in Khan's cell. Continually monitor for any threats to the prisoner and alert me immediately. Do not allow your programming to be altered or removed without my explicit instructions. Understood?"

"Awaiting authorization code." ELSIE stated.

"Authorization KDR 293. ELSIE, transport me to the Federation Council Chambers." Kaitlyn directed.

Khan watched as she was transported away. A few moments later, the doors to the room burst open and six Security Officers rushed in.

"Where is she?" an Admiral demanded as he rushed in after them.

Khan simply shrugged and picked up the book on his cot. He opened it and ignored them. He couldn't help but wonder what abilities Kaitlyn had, because Trian had the ability to do quite a few remarkable things. He smiled slightly, she may be of some use to him after all.

XXXXX

Starfleet Medical.

Leonard McCoy looked up from his PADD as Kaitlyn entered Jim's hospital room. He immediately noticed her change of uniform. It was an all black pant suit, with a very tailored jacket - it also had no Starfleet insignia. The only thing that gave some sort of inkling to a rank was the matted black pips on her collar - five of them. "New uniform for First Contact Officers?" he inquired.

"Temporary Assigned Duty, different job." she shrugged.

Leonard put the PADD down on the table and frowned as he moved closer to her, "Did they give you a hard time?" He'd started to panic earlier when Spock was here and they'd gotten the call that she'd somehow broken into Khan's holding facility and had locked everyone else out. He rubbed her arm gently. He knew she could handle herself, but she was going to give him a heart attack.

Kaitlyn shook her head, "No - not after I made them see reason and understand what needs to happen."

Leonard McCoy sighed, "You didn't tell me you were going to be Khan's Advocate." He didn't understand why she would _want_ to be his Advocate. Khan had killed so many people, destroyed so many lives.

She lifted her chin, she knew he'd be upset. "It is to our advantage if I am his Advocate."

Leonard's eyes widened as he stepped back, "You're using him again! What the hell's going to happen this time when he manages to break out?" He turned away from her and looked at Jim laying helplessly in the bed. Jim had sacrificed himself to save his crew and ship - all because Khan had tried to destroy them.

Kaitlyn watched as Leonard turned away from her, "A calculated risk, one which I am in no way taking lightly. And I'm not using him, but he is going to cooperate with me in the investigation." She pulled out her PADD from her jacket, "I also have another reason for being his Advocate, one which could be used against me. I'm sure you'll figure it out soon enough, if you'll analyze a few things on this for me."

Leonard heard the concern in her voice, then glanced back at her and saw the expression on her face. She was worried - and she never worried, or at least she never showed anyone that she was worried. He accepted the PADD.

Kaitlyn turned to leave.

"Will you be back tonight?" he asked her quietly.

She stopped at the door and calculated the probability, "No, but you can reach me through that PADD - it is encrypted and encoded to find me."

Leonard's brows furrowed, "Kaitlyn, please be careful."

She gave him a small smile, "I always try." She turned and left quickly.

XXXXX

_Enterprise_ Engine Room.

"Good afternoon, Scotty." Kaitlyn smiled as she approached the Chief Engineer.

Montgomery Scott glanced up from the console and smiled brightly, "You're back! It's good to see you Commander."

It's good to see you too." She smiled at the ever present Keenser, "Could you give us a few moments?" she requested.

Keenser nodded and left them alone.

Kaitlyn looked at Scotty, "Mister Scott, I'm investigating Admiral Marcus' actions and I'd like your help. Would you be willing to take a trip with me?"

Scotty grinned, "Depends - where are we going?"

"23-17-46-11." she stated.

Scotty's grin faded, "Oh, that place." He took a deep breath, then nodded.

XXXXX

Kaitlyn stepped into the shuttle and sat down in the co-pilot's seat.

Scotty glanced at her as he had the shuttle doors close and the engine start up. "Did you change jobs?" he'd noted her different uniform in the engine room, but he hadn't wanted to ask her there.

"Just a temporary assignment." she shrugged.

"If you don't mind me asking, why do you want me to come along with you?" he asked as he flew the shuttle out of the Enterprise shuttle bay and headed to their destination.

"You've been there before, I'm hoping you'll notice anything that's been removed." Kaitlyn said. She pulled out her PADD and clicked on an icon. "Khan will also be assisting in ascertaining the facility."

Scotty gaped, "Khan - that mad man! I won't be letting him on this shuttle, Ma'am." he said firmly.

"Do not worry, Mister Scott - I am safely tucked away in my cell here on Earth." Khan stated from the screen on her PADD. I take it you on your way to the facility now?" he questioned Kaitlyn.

"Yes, I wanted to go over the layout of the facility before we arrived." she explained.

Khan nodded and used the PADD she had given him to show her the schematics and walk her through the facility and indicated where vital information and materials were stored. After he had gone through the schematics with her, he changed the screen to see her. "Kaitlyn, these are highly trained personnel. I do not know if they will accept your authority easily - no matter what the orders were that Section 31 sent them." he cautioned her.

Kaitlyn gave him a quick nod, "Understood."

Scotty looked worried, "Ma'am, I don't think we have but a few phasers in the compartment."

"We won't need them." She looked out the window as they approached the facility. She quickly typed in a few commands and sent it out to the facility. A few moments later, the huge bay doors opened.

Montgomery Scott raised an eyebrow, "Looks like they're expecting us." He flew in the hanger and landed on one of the landing platforms. A warning signal went off in the shuttle. "They're scanning us." he stated quickly.

Kaitlyn nodded, "That's standard procedure." she said calmly as she typed in a few more commands and sent them out. She stood up as Scotty turned off the engine.

He looked out the window and frowned, "They've sent out a welcoming party." he indicated.

She quickly took note of the men and their weapons, then headed out the shuttle door. She handed him the PADD to carry.

Scotty quickly raced to catch up with her.

Kaitlyn stopped before the five man team and looked them up and down. "Where is Captain Wheeler?" she questioned.

One of the men stepped forward, "He is busy at the moment. Perhaps we can help you two." he gave her a wry smile. His men chuckled.

"Get him here now." she ordered.

Scotty was growing apprehensive as the men reflexively tightened their grips on their rifles. He remembered his encounter with these types of men on the _Vengeance_.

"How about you two get back in your shuttle and leave?" the man suggested firmly as he stepped closer to intimidate her.

Kaitlyn slammed her left palm into his diaphragm, then right hooked his jaw and he fell to the ground unconscious.

Scotty's eyes widened as the other men aimed their weapons at them and pulled the triggers.

Nothing happened. The weapons did not fire.

Scotty watched as Kaitlyn stepped closer to the other men, and they stepped back.

"Get Captain Wheeler here. Now!" she demanded.

One of the other men nodded, "Yes, Ma'am." He opened his communicator and quickly called for the Captain.

Wheeler frowned at what he had witnessed on the monitor as he answered the comm. "Escort them to the Conference Room." he directed.

Kaitlyn smiled. She wasn't sure if he'd actually reply himself. "Don't worry boys, we'll find him ourselves. ELSIE, transport Commander Scott and myself to the location of Captain Wheeler, then transport these gentlemen into the Brig." A moment later, they were transported into the room Wheeler was in.

The Captain looked up, shocked that they were here with him. "How the hell did you do that?" he questioned.

Kaitlyn took a step closer to him, "You are hereby ordered to stop all operations from this facility. Captain Wheeler, you are hereby detained for questioning." she stated. She typed in a command into the nearest computer and the Captain was transported away.

Scotty blinked rapidly, "Who's Elsie?"

Kaitlyn glanced back at him as she quickly went through the systems of the facility and locked them all out.

"A very highly intelligent secured system." Khan stated from the PADD.

Scotty looked at the PADD, he'd forgotten that Khan could see and hear everything they did. He looked at Kaitlyn curiously, "But, how was it installed here? How do you have access?"

"Everything Starfleet has built since 2186 has ELSIE in it." Kaitlyn said distractedly as another user tried to stop her authorization from somewhere else in the facility. "Audio and visual, ELSIE." She quickly identified the person and brought him up on the monitor. "Lieutenant Clegg, stop your actions within twenty seconds or I will blow up the console you're at." she threatened. The Lieutenant quickly stepped away from the console. "Thank you, Lieutenant."

The audio in the room beeped, "Seven shuttles are approaching the facility." ELSIE stated.

Kaitlyn clicked on her screen and looked over their identification. She clicked on the comm, "Took you long enough to get here."

Admiral Robert Reed shrugged, "You didn't give me much notice to get a team of trusted people together. Is the facility secured?" he asked from his shuttle.

"Weapons have been disabled. Personnel are still onboard, but they are locked out of all systems." Kaitlyn explained.

"We will be there momentarily." he acknowledged and ended the transmission.

Scotty looked at Kaitlyn, "Who _are_ you?"

XXXXX

TBC.

Reviews are greatly appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters, only my OC - Kaitlyn Donovan.

This is the sequel to _The Ripple Effect_. It would be insightful to read it, but not completely necessary - though you may wish to at least read the last few chapters.

Query - What was the fall out after everything was said and done?

**Broken Remnants**

Chapter 3

23-17-46-11 Facility

Kaitlyn Donovan glanced down at the schematics on the PADD as the Security teams from the shuttles gathered around. "We need to do a room by room to gather any personnel that are left. We've already transported everyone that has shown up on sensors, but we still have five areas that are partially shielded." She quickly sent out the locations to each team leader. "Check in every five minutes. If you find someone, put a transporter tag on them and we'll beam them out." The teams nodded and headed out to the locations they'd been assigned.

"What would you like me to do, Ma'am?" Scotty questioned.

She clicked on her PADD, "This room has quite a few weapons systems that I'd like for you to make sure are shut down."

"Aye, Ma'am." Montgomery Scott headed off to the room she'd pointed out.

"And what are you going to do?" Admiral Reed questioned her.

"I'm going to begin debriefing the personnel." she shrugged and headed to the Brig as he followed her. She stopped before she was about to enter the room, "Why don't you start going through the communication logs and sort out the programs that still have potential?" she suggested.

Admiral Reed nodded, then left.

Donavan glanced at the Security Officer that had come with her. "Lieutenant Uzzel, I may use tactics you are not use to in order to gain information quickly - do not be alarmed. Do not interrupt me, understood?" she questioned the young Lieutenant.

"I understand, Ma'am." He had the door open for her.

The Brig had three cells, and each of the cells had about eight people in them.

Captain Wheeler stood up quickly, "You have no right to hold us in here when we've done nothing wrong!" he demanded.

The other men quickly added their angry sentiments to his.

Kaitlyn raised her hand for them to be silent. When they were silent, she clasped her hands behind her back loosely and stood in the center of the room, so they could all see her from their cell. "Number One, Section 31 has a different view of rights - you only have the rights we agree to give you. All of you knew that when you signed up. Number Two, I will be debriefing each of you to determine if you have done anything wrong. If you have not done anything wrong, this will be quick. If you think you may have done something questionable under someone's order, your debriefing is the time to explain yourself." She held the gaze of each man as she looked at them. "Any questions before we begin?"

The man she'd knocked out stepped closer to the partition, "Do you really think we're going to tell you anything? Who the hell are you to be questioning us?"

She smiled tightly, "I am former General Donovan-Reed and as of a few hours ago, I am investigating Section 31's involvement in recent events. As for you answering my questions - who said I'm going to give you a choice?" She let her words sink in. "Thank you for volunteering to go first." She clicked an icon on her PADD and he was transported into the interview room. She turned and walked to the interview room and had the partition open.

Lieutenant Uzzel stood outside the partition and kept an eye on the man as it closed. He gazed at the men in all of the cells as they watched, but could not hear the debriefing going on. He had to give the General credit - she was debriefing them in front of everyone, she could have easily done this elsewhere - away from prying eyes. But, he had to admit, this was more intimidating to the rest of the men as they watched.

Kaitlyn Donovan nodded at the man, "Please state you name and rank for the record." she requested.

"Commander Tyler Gunderson." he crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes as he glared at her.

"Commander Gunderson, would you like to make a statement before we begin?" she offered.

He nodded and leaned against the table, "We've done nothing wrong - we were following orders from Admiral Marcus."

"I understand the importance of following orders, Commander. Thank you for your statement. Now, what I would like for you to do is to tell me the programs that you have worked on under Admiral Marcus' direction." she nodded.

Gunderson kept his arms crossed and sat back in the chair.

She looked at him questionably, "Are you sure you want to take this stance with me?"

He lifted his chin defiantly.

She stood up and walked around the table, then touched his shoulder. _Sleep_, she directed his mind silently.

His head dropped on to the table with a thud.

Kaitlyn took a deep breath, then went back to her seat and sat down. She surreptitiously glanced at the other men and saw their surprised looks. She quickly looked up Commander Gunderson's records. He had a nearly exemplary record. She went through his postings and the comments left by his former Commanding Officers. After about five minutes, she reached across the table and touched his forehead. _Wake_, she directed his mind.

A few moments later, Gunderson stirred awake and sat up. He looked at her, and blinked rapidly. He'd distinctly heard her voice in his head - she'd said sleep, and he'd shut down. "How did you do that?" he asked quietly.

She shrugged, "Something I picked up a long time ago. Now, are you going to cooperate? Or do I need to take the information I need out of you myself?" she questioned and gave him a small smile.

Gunderson became very cooperative. He detailed every project he'd worked on, and the others that he knew about.

An hour later, Kaitlyn stood up and indicated for him to stand. She had the partition open. "Lieutenant Uzzel, Commander Gunderson is released." She turned to Gunderson, "Thank you for your help, Commander. You may go get some food from the Dining Hall, then go to your quarters to rest. Please report to the Operations room at 0800 and we will have your assignment ready." she directed.

"Yes, Ma'am." Gunderson nodded, then left. He was surprised that she was releasing him, and further surprised that she didn't have a guard go watch over him. She was showing her trust in him that he'd told the truth. Though, he had the feeling in the back of his mind that she already knew everyone's involvement, and this was just a formality.

Donovan looked at her PADD, then glanced at the middle cell, "Harper, you are next." She had him transported, then went in.

Not surprisingly, the rest of the debriefings went very quickly and without any problems. As she finished each debriefing, she sent a quick message to Admiral Reed to update him on the status of each Crew member and Officer. He was deciding on whether or not they would stay and continue to work at the facility, or be rotated to another post.

XXXXX

Kaitlyn stood up as she finished the last debriefing. She walked Captain Wheeler to the door, "Thank you for your cooperation, Captain."

Wheeler nodded, "Thank you for allowing me to go last." She had been thorough in her questioning, asking for clarification when necessary. She had not been condescending, nor condemning. It was evident to him that she was fair and open minded, and was only looking for answers as to what had gone on at the facility.

"I knew you would want to oversee your crew as they were debriefed." She acknowledged. She looked up at him carefully, "Is there anyone one this facility that I have not questioned?"

Wheeler nodded, "Commander Tyghe. I have not seen him since before you arrived."

"Loyal to Marcus?" she asked.

"Yes, Ma'am. He worked closely with Harrison on designing the weapon systems of the Vengeance." Wheeler stated.

"Where is the most likely place he would be?" Kaitlyn inquired as they headed out the door together.

"Compartment 27." Wheeler thought quickly, and headed in that direction.

Kaitlyn opened her communicator, "Commander Scott, have you gotten into Compartment 27?" she questioned.

"Yes, Ma'am. We've gotten in all of the rooms and haven't found anyone else." Scotty replied as he looked on his PADD at the schematics of the facility and headed back to Compartment 27.

Kaitlyn quickly found Tyghe's records and sent his photo out to each of the teams to locate him. She clicked on another icon. "ELSIE, locate Commander Tyghe." she directed the secured system.

"Unable to locate Commander Tyghe in the facility." the computer stated.

Donovan looked at Wheeler, "Any ideas?"

Wheeler frowned, then a look of realization came over his face, "The raw materials storage vault in Compartment 27 - it is shielded, and Tyghe does have access."

They meet up with Scotty and a team of Security Officers at the doors to Compartment 27. They went in and headed to the raw material storage vault in the back of the room.

Captain Wheeler opened the door using his code.

Kaitlyn heard movement before she saw anything. She pushed Wheeler out of the way.

Montgomery Scott watched in horror as Kaitlyn was slammed to the ground by the man they were looking for.

The Security Team members that were with them tackled the crewmember and knocked him out.

Scotty quickly ran over to Kaitlyn and his breath caught as he saw the nine inch metal pole impaled into her chest as she lay unconscious. He glanced at one of the Security team members, "Get some help!" he yelled. He knew that he couldn't pull the thing out, or it would make matters worse.

"Mister Scott!" Khan yelled over the PADD to get his attention.

Scotty looked down at the PADD, "What?"

"What are her injuries?" Khan's voice was very deliberate.

Scotty opened the medical scanner that was given to him. He quickly activated it, "It says her lungs have been punctured by this blasted pole! I cannot take the damn thing out of her." he was growing increasingly frustrated.

Khan took a deep breath, "Listen to me very carefully - you need to get her back to Starfleet Medical within twenty minutes. Her lungs are going to collapse and she won't be able to breathe."

Scotty shook his head, "I can't get her there in time in the shuttle."

"Use the transporters." Khan stated.

"We can't beam from here to there!" Scotty ran his hand through his hair.

"You can leapfrog it, from one transporter to the next. I know you are capable of thinking this through, Mister Scott." Khan reassured the engineer.

Montgomery Scott quickly thought it through, "Bring her to the Transporter room." he ordered and started to run. He pulled up the ships in the area and found two they could use to get her to the Star base over Earth, then he could get her to Starfleet Medical.

"Mister Scott, Doctor McCoy seems very capable of handling dire situations, you may want him standing by." Khan suggested.

Admiral Reed came quickly into the Transporter room and stopped short when he saw his Mother's condition.

Scotty glanced at the Admiral, "Sir, I need to commandeer some transporters - and I'm sure they'll want someone to authorize it." he pointed to the monitors at all of the transporters he needed control of.

Admiral Robert Reed frowned, "Have you ever done anything like this before?"

"Sir. . ." Scotty frowned as he looked at Kaitlyn laying on the transporter pad.

Admiral Reed quickly authorized the commandeering of the transporters.

Montgomery Scott nodded and started the first leg of the transport. "Admiral, get Doctor McCoy to stand by." he suggested as he concentrated on the delicate process of getting her from one place to another.

XXXXX

Khan paced in his cell as he listened to Mister Scott and the Admiral - the Admiral that was Kaitlyn's oldest son. She'd allowed him access to her family history and career. He'd found it very enlightening.

If he'd been there on the facility with her, he could have stopped her attacker. He clenched his fists. _Now all he could do was wait_. She was strong, and her body was pretty quick healing - but she still had to get to the medical facility.

It seemed like an eternity before Mister Scott breathed a sigh of relief, but Khan's internal clock said it had only been five minutes.

"She's arrived at Starfleet Medical." Montgomery Scott reported.

XXXXX

Starfleet Medical

Doctor Kor patted Doctor McCoy's shoulder as they came out of the Operating Room, "You did very well, Doctor. I will see that they move Kaitlyn to a private room, while you speak to them." he indicated the Officers waiting for an update.

They stood up as McCoy approached.

Commander Spock stepped forward, "Is Commander Donovan in stable condition?"

Leonard McCoy nodded, "She's recovering and out of danger."

Montgomery Scott gave a heavy sigh of relief and quickly turned on the PADD in his hands, "She's recovering and she's out of danger. Now you can quit bothering me every five damn minutes!" he told Khan as he came on the screen. He'd only just arrived a little while ago, since he took a shuttle back.

"Thank you for the update, Mister Scott. Now, what is her red and white blood cell count?" Khan inquired.

Commander Spock's eyebrows rose into his hairline, "Why are you speaking to him?" he asked the Engineer.

Scotty opened his mouth to speak, then closed it quickly. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to tell anyone what he'd been helping Kaitlyn do on that facility.

"Mister Scott and I were working with Kaitlyn to secure a top secret facility." Khan interjected. "Now - what is her blood cell count? She could easily get an infection from some microbe." he pointed out to anyone who would listen.

Leonard McCoy snatched the PADD from Scotty and glared at Khan, "Look here - I know what I'm doing." He looked at Scotty and Spock, "She'll be awake in about thirty minutes, I'll bring this back." he promised Scotty as he indicated the PADD. He walked down the corridor and headed to Kaitlyn's room. He went in and the door shut. Leonard McCoy glanced at the readings on the monitors, then turned the PADD so Khan could see the readings. "See, she'll be fine." He sat down tiredly in the chair next to her biobed.

Khan sighed almost imperceptibly, but Leonard heard it.

"I don't know if I like you taking an interest in her wellbeing." Leonard McCoy admitted.

Khan's eyes narrowed, "She is my Advocate, it is in my interest that she is well."

McCoy frowned. _Khan's Advocate_. He didn't agree with Kaitlyn's decision, but he understood her reasoning. He'd run the analysis that she'd wanted done, and he'd been unnerved at the results. Kaitlyn's Mother's El-Aurian genetic material had been used to help engineer Khan. And that was the end their family relationship. Just similar genetic material. Khan had been augmented and enhanced and his genes had been sequenced and tweaked to make him the person that he was.

Khan noted the Doctor's contemplative silence, "Did she have you run an analysis for her?" he inquired. _Surely she hadn't_. The more people that knew of their shared heritage, the more likely that it would be used in some way against her. Unless. . . . He looked over Doctor McCoy's features. The man wasn't just tired from the two hour surgery, there was much more behind that gruff facade - especially in regards to Kaitlyn.

Leonard McCoy nodded as he watched the man that had killed so many people, who had wanted to annihilate all of them on the Enterprise and Starfleet. "She did." he said simply.

"And what did you learn?" Khan questioned.

McCoy shook his head, "I haven't been able to discuss the results with her - and I'm not going to discuss them with you." He glanced at Kaitlyn lying on the biobed and frowned again. "What was she doing when this happened?"

Khan raised an eyebrow. He supposed he should answer the man, given the doctor would probably have to fill out reports on the incident. "She was at the secret facility where the _Vengeance_, and other items were built. They had secured all of the facility, except one room. That's when she was attacked." He watched the doctor take in the information. "You may wish to speak with Mister Scott - he was very alarmed with what happened. He was crucial in the process of getting her to Starfleet Medical. I'm sure Admiral Reed is just as anxious to hear about her wellbeing."

McCoy nodded, realizing the man was starting to sound almost human with his suggestions. Leonard knew that it was all a ruse, however long it lasted. He knew as soon as Khan saw a chance, he'd take revenge on all of the people he felt affronted by. Leonard also knew that Khan was extremely calculating, and he would find a way to use it to manipulate Kaitlyn. McCoy stood up, "When she feels up to it, I'll have her comm you." he clicked off the transmission.

Khan stared at the blank screen on the PADD. Doctor McCoy had obviously realized something. Khan shrugged slightly, then leaned back on his bed and began scrolling through all of the information they'd gotten from the facility. Kaitlyn had wanted him to catalogue everything from the facility. And because she was his Advocate, and because she had him moved to this much nicer secured facility - he would do as she requested.

XXXXX

Leonard McCoy didn't have to wait long for Kaitlyn to stir awake. Almost immediately after he'd ended the transmission with Khan and had checked all of her vitals again, her hands started twitching.

Kaitlyn bolted up in bed screaming and her arms automatically reaching out to stop her attacker.

"Whoa - you're okay." Leonard tried to calm her down with his voice before he touched her arm.

Kaitlyn's heart was pounding in her chest as she looked around the hospital room. Memories of pushing Wheeler out of the way and the feel of the pole slamming into her chest came rushing back. She touched her chest instinctively and was grateful the thing had been removed. Then the voice that had spoken registered. _Leonard_. She looked at him and shook her head slowly, "I'm sorry." She hadn't been fast enough, hadn't taken down the Tyghe before he'd caused any damage.

Leonard touched her cheek gently, "You'll be okay." He kissed her forehead, then gently eased her back on the bed. He raised the head of the bed a bit, but not too much. He knew that her pain was going to increase the more she sat up.

Leonard jumped as the Klingon Doctor rushed through the door at a breakneck pace - he hadn't even known they could move that fast. "She's okay, just had a bit of a reflex when she woke up." he tried to put Doctor Kor at ease.

Doctor Kor had already scanned all of the reading on the monitors as he walked around to the other side of her bed. He touched Kaitlyn's shoulder and squeezed it gently, "I've only heard you scream like that once before." he shook his head as his own heart rate started to return to normal.

Kaitlyn tried to smile, "I didn't mean to worry you, Doctor."

Kor glanced at McCoy, "Why don't you go talk to the others, I'll stay with her."

Leonard McCoy had gotten to know the Klingon Doctor pretty well over the past few days and recognized that Kor wanted to speak to Kaitlyn privately. He nodded and left them alone.

Kaitlyn had seen the look between the two. She watched as Kor took a deep breath.

Kor crossed his arms, "That was a stupid thing to do." he pronounced.

Kaitlyn raised an eyebrow, "To what are you referring?" Kor was nothing, if not direct.

"Going to that facility - you should have had others go there first and clear it out before you went." Kor stated. He saw her about to argue and stopped her with a slight raise of his hand. "I don't care what's there - besides, Starfleet is being very secretive about everything that has occurred recently. I just know that despite the fact Doctor McCoy was worried sick about you, he managed to pull it together and operate on you. Don't put him through that again."

Kaitlyn nodded slightly, "I had my reasons for going there."

"I'm sure you did." Kor shrugged. "I know you are investigating what has happened, but Starfleet, the Federation - or better yet - you, need to make a statement soon. I know for a fact the Romulans on board our ship are snooping around trying to figure it out on their own." he pointed out to her.

"Thank you for reminding me that we are still in a very unsteady relationship with other worlds. I'm sure the Klingon High Council has been trying to get answers from you." Kaitlyn closed her eyes and took a slow breath. She had forgotten - mainly because they'd worked so hard on the _Daystrom_ to learn to trust one another. She opened her eyes and tried to smile, "I will make some inquiries."

Kor laughed, "Doctor McCoy isn't going to let you make any inquiries until you've healed more."

"I can try." She knew Leonard would do his best to keep her from working, but that didn't mean she couldn't direct others to do what she needed done. She looked up as Commander Spock and Scotty came in.

"You are looking remarkably well for someone that was impaled just a few hours ago." Spock commented to Kaitlyn.

Leonard rolled his eyes at the Vulcan's comment, "Must you really be so blunt?"

Spock raised an eyebrow at the doctor, "It is the truth." He turned back to Kaitlyn, "If you would like, I will issue a statement to both crews that you are recovering from an injury and will return to duty as soon as you are able." he offered.

Kaitlyn smiled, "Thank you, I'd appreciate it, Commander. Would you also send a message to Ambassador Spock? Somehow, he always finds out if something goes wrong - and I'd rather him hear it from you."

"Of course." Spock glanced at the others, then back to her. "I will come by later, Commander Donovan." He stepped back, then left.

Kaitlyn looked at Scotty as the man looked at bit uneasy. "Could you two doctors give me a few minutes with Mister Scott?" she requested. She waited until the doctors left.

"Thank you." she told the Engineer.

Scotty blinked, "For what?"

"You got me here - didn't you?" she gave him a small smile. She had realized a few moments ago that she wouldn't have gotten here in time via a shuttle. She shifted uncomfortably.

"Yes, but I should have stopped that man - I didn't react quick enough." Scotty shook his head and frowned.

"_I_ didn't even have enough time to react. Is everyone else okay?" she inquired, wondering if Tyghe had managed to hurt anyone else.

"Everyone else is fine." Scotty watched her carefully. It was a miracle that she was alive. No, it wasn't a miracle - it was because of Khan's suggestion. "Khan is the one that suggested leapfrogging the transporters." he admitted.

Kaitlyn nodded slowly. "Was he helpful while you were going through the facility?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, Ma'am." Scotty frowned as she winced and a quick flash of pain crossed her face. "I'll get the doctor." He went to the door and called McCoy back in.

McCoy and Kor came in and assessed her condition.

"Where is the pain?" Kor demanded to know.

Kaitlyn shook her head as her hands started shaking, "I'll be fine. I just need to rest for awhile." She tried to brush off the feeling of pins and needles racing under her skin all over her body.

The monitors started beeping louder and a few more alarms started to go off.

Both Leonard and Kor got their scanners out and went over her.

Three nurses rushed in and stood at the ready.

Scotty looked at the readings and frowned, he'd seen something like this before - that is, if it's what he thought it might be. He swallowed hard, "Um, are you having a pins and needles sensation under your skin, Ma'am?" he questioned.

Leonard's head snapped to Scotty, then to Kaitlyn. He glanced back at the readings and his face went ashen.

Kaitlyn nodded slowly as the pain increased - the sheets and the hospital gown felt like they were on fire as they brushed against her skin.

"Transporter Dementia?" Kor questioned.

"She was transported between five transporters in less than five minutes." Scotty winced. He should have known there would be complications from the process.

Leonard McCoy quickly reached for a hypo and set the sedative to a high dosage, "The pain is only going to increase - it will be better if you're out." he told her as he released the sedative into her bloodstream.

Kaitlyn grabbed Leonard's hand as she fought to keep her eyes open, "Don't let Scotty get in trouble . . ." her eyes started to shut, "not . . his. . fault." her hand dropped.

Leonard nodded slowly and laid her hand beside her body on the bed, then tucked a stray hair behind her ear. He looked at Scotty, "She's right - it's not your fault." He took a deep breath and looked at the nurses, "We need Jericho from Neurology, and Hidic from Genetics."

Two of the nurses quickly took off and the third waited further instructions.

Doctor Kor watched as Kaitlyn's readings kept spiking, "We need to suppress her pain receptors that are going haywire." he prompted McCoy. He watched as the human doctor pulled himself together once again, then they got to work.

XXXXX

TBC.

Reviews are greatly appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters, only my OC - Kaitlyn Donovan.

This is the sequel to _The Ripple Effect_. It would be insightful to read it, but not completely necessary - though you may wish to at least read the last few chapters.

Query - What was the fall out after everything was said and done?

Thank you everyone that is reading/favorite/following this story - especially to Just a Crazy-Man, Emberka-2012, bonesfan4ever, IrishBug74, and Silver-ShadowSpark for the reviews!

**Broken Remnants**

Chapter 4

Starfleet Medical

Ambassador Spock sat back in the chair and waited for Kaitlyn Donovan to wake up. He had touched her mind twenty minutes ago and had found her to be healing well and slowing regaining control, she was trying to wake herself up. He waited.

It was deep into the night shift and hardly anyone, except the staff, was moving around in the hospital. He looked up as the tall Klingon doctor came in carrying a tray with three cups of steaming beverages. Ambassador Spock had mentioned to the doctor that her mind was stirring, and the doctor suggested that he fix them something to drink. "Thank you, Doctor Kor." Ambassador Spock accepted the tea. He watched as the doctor set the tray down on the table beside her bed, then he got his cup from the tray and sat in the chair next to him. "Do you think this will help?"

Doctor Kor gave a rather boisterous belly laugh, "The Commander is drawn to coffee like a moth to a flame. If nothing else, it will entice her to wake up faster." He took a sip of his own version of strong coffee.

"You get along with Commander Donovan very well?" Ambassador Spock inquired.

Kor nodded, "Yes - she is honorable. She treats everyone with respect and fairness. She stepped into the responsibility of Acting Captain and was able to lead us well." The Klingon doctor watched the older Ambassador, "It was good of you to travel here to be with her and to help with her treatment."

Ambassador Spock tilted his head slightly, "She would do the same for me." He had no doubt about it. She was loyal and dedicated to her family, friends, and crew. He had questions to ask her when she was able. He did not understand why she was Khan's Advocate. He understood her investigating Section 31 and Admiral Marcus' actions - but he couldn't comprehend why she was going to defend the man that nearly killed all of the crew on the Enterprise and had killed many others on the planet - including Admiral Pike, whom she admired. He had spoken briefly to Commander Spock, but he did not have an answer. He looked up as he heard her sigh softly.

Kaitlyn recognized the familiar smell of the coffee first, then she noticed the two men in the room with her that stood up and moved closer to the bed. "Kor, did you fix me coffee?"

"Yes, Commander." Kor moved the cup of coffee to the tray over her bed, then he quickly scanned her. He nodded at the results. "Have your previous symptoms gone away?" he inquired.

Kaitlyn nodded as she pushed the button for the head of the bed to raise, "No more pins and needles sensations - how did you negate the transporter dementia?"

"We suppressed the pain receptors that had been thrown out of whack by all of the transporters you went through. Then we made sure your neural synapses were functioning properly. Ambassador Spock checked your mind and made sure you were fine. You should not have a relapse." Kor explained.

Kaitlyn smiled at Ambassador Spock, "It is pleasing to see you again."

"And you, Kaitlyn." Ambassador Spock nodded.

Kaitlyn took a sip of the coffee after she picked the cup up carefully, "Thank you, Doctor Kor." The caffeine was waking her up quickly. She looked around the room slowly, then studied the readings on all of the monitors.

Doctor Kor could almost see her mind churning. "Doctor McCoy is sleeping on the couch in Captain Kirk's room down the hall. I had to order him to get some sleep." he stated. "Would you like for me to get him?"

Kaitlyn shook her head, "Let him sleep - he pushes himself too hard."

Kor laughed, "Just like someone else I know." he looked at her pointedly. He took a deep breath, "I believe I will go and check on a few tests I'm running. If you need me, just call." The Klingon picked up his coffee cup and left them alone in the room.

"I am pleased you are doing well." Ambassador Spock stated.

Kaitlyn shifted her position and felt the muscles around her ribs flinch slightly - it was still sore, and she could feel the tight wrap around her skin to help the bones heal correctly. "Well, I'm doing better than I was." she shrugged slightly.

Ambassador Spock watched her carefully. Did she not realize how influential she was to people? Did she not realize the work she had been doing to bring trust to the species on the _Daystrom_ was essential? He did not understand why she put herself in danger needlessly. "Your investigation is going well?" he inquired.

Kaitlyn nodded, "Yes." She knew he had questions - she could see it in his eyes. "Why don't you sit down, then I'll answer your questions." she suggested.

"You have just woken up." he shook his head.

Kaitlyn smiled, "I have my coffee - I'll be fine." she insisted.

XXXXX

0536

Kaitlyn glanced up as the door opened and Leonard came in quickly.

"Why didn't you have me paged when you woke up?" he questioned as he came over to the bed and squeezed her hand tightly. He sighed softly and said a silent prayer of thanks that she was okay. He leaned over and kissed her gently.

"Doctor Kor said you needed to sleep." She touched his face and traced the little worry lines around his eyes, "I'm sorry that I've worried you these past few days." She watched as his expression saddened.

Leonard sat down on the bed next to her hip and ran a tired hand through his disheveled hair, "Between you and Jim, I think ya'll have aged me ten years in the past week." he took a deep breath as he looked up at the monitors and checked all of her readings.

She sat up on her own and breathed out through the pain that rocked through her ribs. She leaned her head on his back and wrapped her arms around him.

He knew she had to be in pain just sitting up. He turned to her and touched her chin, "You need to lay back down. If I have to reset those ribs again you'll just have to stay here longer - and I can't be with you if you're in here."

She nodded and he helped her lay back against the mattress. She winced and took a slow breath.

"I appreciated the gesture." he smiled slowly and kissed her again. He stood up and stepped away as he heard the door being keyed open.

Kaitlyn smiled as Trip Tucker stood at the door with a huge vase of flowers, "Come in, Admiral." she waved for him to come in.

Her old friend grinned at the two of them, "Did I interrupt anything?" he teased as he came over to the other side of her bed and kissed her forehead. He watched as the doctor bristled. Trip turned and put the flowers on the cabinet. "Ambassador Spock called me and said you were up." he explained why he'd come by this early in the morning.

McCoy frowned, "Just how many people know you're awake?" he asked her quickly.

Kaitlyn shrugged, "I've only sent out a few messages." _A few dozen_. She tried to quell the explicative that was about ready to escape his mouth, "If I work from here, I can't get injured - right?"

Leonard McCoy shook his head in disbelief, she was too stubborn for her own good. "Fine, but this is a hospital - keep it down, and keep visitors to a minimum." He glanced at her PADD and remembered what he'd told Khan - the man was driving Scotty insane demanding updates on her condition. "Oh, and before that man manages to break out and make his way here, just to see if you're okay - you'd better talk to him pretty soon." he suggested, then left the room.

Kaitlyn frowned. Khan probably was upset. She picked up her PADD and typed in a quick message to him that she was awake and she would speak with him shortly. She put the PADD back down on the bed and looked up at Trip slowly. He was rolling his tongue inside his cheek, which meant his gears were turning a mile a second. "Thank you for coming in to see me."

Trip nodded and crossed his arms, "So, you really are his Advocate?" He shook his head - he thought for sure it was just a wild rumor to calm the masses. Starfleet and the Federation had released a joint press conference last evening and had given their spin on the events over the past week. They had confirmed that one of Starfleet's own, Commander John Harrison, had gone rogue and been responsible for the attack in London, the attack on Starfleet Headquarters, and that the ship he had commandeered had malfunctioned and dropped out of the sky and slammed into San Francisco. They said that Harrison's family's well fair had been threatened by Admiral Marcus, and that had caused his mental break down. Trip shook his head again, the story was close enough to the truth to stand up to scrutiny. "Did you come up with the press release?" he wondered.

"I had suggested it to them. I think they would have liked it better if I had been there with them to speak with the press, but that's okay - I'll do our own press conference once I get out of here."

"Don't you think people are going to be angry at you for defending him?" he was worried about her safety. She'd been a target before, so had her family. "What if . . ." he frowned deeply, "What if they find out who you are - what will happen then?"

Kaitlyn gave him a small smile, "What happens, happens. I need to be his Advocate. I will make sure the people understand his plight - that his family was threatened, kidnapped. Yes, he is responsible for what he did. Yes, he should be punished. But, to what extent? How much of this did Admiral Marcus bring upon us?"

Trip let out a slow breath, "So, Marcus will be the focus of everyone's anger?"

"He is responsible, Trip. If he hadn't had this grandiose scheme, if he hadn't woken Khan up and threatened his crew - we wouldn't be in this mess!" she pointed out. She clenched her fists tightly as her blood pressure started to climb.

Trip looked up quickly as the monitors started beeping loudly, "Hey, hey - take a few deep breaths. I didn't come in here to get you all upset. I just came in to see how an old friend was doing." he tried to calm her down.

Kaitlyn closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She knew Trip wasn't trying to goad her, but she was so angry at Marcus right now. She was going to have to meditate pretty soon to control her anger. She opened her eyes once she felt her blood pressure return to normal. "I'll be okay, Trip." she tried to reassure him.

Trip wanted to make the conversation light hearted, "So - you just had to get a pole jabbed into ya?"

Kaitlyn chuckled softly, even though it hurt to laugh. "I didn't move out of the way fast enough." she shrugged.

XXXXX

Doctor Carol Marcus rode the lift to the fifth floor of Starfleet Medical. She had been summoned to have her debriefing here, though she had no idea why. She would have thought that another Starfleet facility would have been more conducive. Though, in light of her father's recent actions - she wasn't surprised. Every one of the Admirals and Officers that she'd grown up knowing, were not returning her calls.

She glanced up at the door to room 527 and knocked.

"Enter." a voice called out.

Carol Marcus came into the room hesitantly. The woman in the biobed indicated for her to come in. She looked over the woman carefully. She was sitting up in the bed on top of the covers, and was dressed in a black Section 31 uniform. Her hair was put up in a loose bun. The only thing missing were her shoes. Was this some type of ruse? She wouldn't put it past the Section. She hadn't missed the fact the woman had five black pips at her collar - though how she had gotten that high of ranking when she wasn't that old was something of a conundrum.

Kaitlyn noticed the woman taking in the situation quickly as she walked over to the foot of the bed. "Good morning, Doctor Marcus - please, come in and sit down." The young woman sat down in the chair beside the bed and held onto her PADD tightly. "I'm Commander Donovan and I'll be conducting your debriefing. I want to thank you for coming here - Doctor McCoy won't release me quite yet - perhaps tomorrow, but this can't wait."

Carol Marcus smiled slightly, "Doctor McCoy can be a bit over protective." she agreed and indicated the pressurized cast still around her leg. Carol thought it was interesting that Donovan was giving her Starfleet rank, not her Section 31 rank.

Donovan nodded, "Now, tell me about the programs you worked on for Section 31 and Admiral Marcus."

Carol sat back, "I didn't work for Section 31 - just Starfleet Weapons Research and Design." she stated softly.

Donovan looked up slowly from her PADD, "You had access to all of Admiral Marcus' new weapon designs. You visited the facility at the Kelvin Memorial Archives - you even consulted with Commander Harrison a few times over the designs." she pointed out.

"Well, yes - but it was in my capacity with Weapons R&D." Carol said, wondering if her father had done something else he shouldn't have.

"Admiral Marcus had you on the roles of Section 31 as a consultant on the weapons program he was overseeing." Donovan said firmly.

Carol Marcus frowned. She'd loved her father, but in light of all that she'd recently discovered, she realized she really didn't know him - and she certainly didn't like the power mad man that she'd seen on the bridge of the _Vengeance_.

"Doctor Marcus, I know your father wasn't exactly truthful with you. What I'm here to do today is debrief you on the programs you were involved in." Kaitlyn said calmly. She knew the young woman was being shunned by Starfleet Command because of her father's actions.

Carol Marcus nodded slowly, then began detailing the weapons systems that she'd been working on the past few years.

Kaitlyn Donovan looked up as she finished the last note on her PADD. She'd been debriefing Carol for three hours and she was surprised they hadn't been interrupted once. "How is it that Commander Harrison didn't realize you were Admiral Marcus' daughter? You'd worked with him on six occasions."

"I found that people treated me differently when they learned I was his daughter, so I always introduced myself as Carol Wallace." she winced. "I think that's why he broke my leg when I was on the bridge of the _Vengeance_." she said softly.

Kaitlyn nodded, "Yes, he told me he was mad - he felt you had betrayed him. But he was angrier at your father."

Carol watched Donovan, "My father manipulated Khan. I didn't know to what extent. I never knew who he really was, or that my father was holding his crew hostage. If I'd known . . ." she shrugged slightly.

"Please only refer to him as John Harrison. We've agreed that it is better for all concerned if we can hold a Starfleet Tribunal, rather than go through the regular court system." Donovan stated.

"Yes, Ma'am." Carol agreed as she stood up. She had a thought, "Have you spoken to Commander Rachel Reed? She was Harrison's handler at the Kelvin facility. She could probably tell you more about what went on at the facility." she suggested.

Kaitlyn Donovan kept her facial expression even, then gave Carol a small smile. "I will look into it. Thank you, Doctor Marcus." she dismissed the woman. Kaitlyn took a deep breath. Rachel Reed - one of her great granddaughters. Rachel was a Social Psychologist that specialized in group dynamics. Kaitlyn closed her eyes and wondered if Admiral Marcus had specifically targeted her family. It wouldn't surprise her, based on what she'd learned. Kaitlyn was a threat to Marcus' power in the Section, because she could always come back and question. The easiest way to control someone was to hold something over them. Kaitlyn opened her eyes and began looking for information on her PADD.

XXXXX

Commander Rachel Reed quickly raced up the steps of Starfleet Medical. She'd seen the press conference last night and realized she needed to speak to her great grandmother before she got in over her head. Her grandfather had sent out a message that she was recovering at Starfleet Medical from an injury. Rachel was going to kick herself if she found her great grandmother had been hurt by that mad man. She'd only met the family matriarch four times: at her father's memorial service after the _U.S.S. Kelvin _had been destroyed (she'd only been five), and at each of her graduations - from high school, medical school, and Starfleet Academy. None of them had seen her that much since she'd lived on Vulcan. She wondered what she'd been doing since Vulcan had been destroyed? She frowned as she stepped onto the lift. They had referred to her as Commander Donovan in the press conference - why would they have done that? Surely she wasn't consulting with Starfleet during that time - and if she was, why would she be a Commander? She'd retired a General. She found her great grandmother's room and keyed the door open. Her mouth dropped open at the sight of the woman in the hospital bed. _This_ woman was not old, she didn't have grey streaks running through her hair, and she wasn't wearing following robes. _This_ woman looked in her later thirties and was wearing a Section 31 uniform. "What the hell is this?" Rachel demanded.

Kaitlyn smiled, "It's good to see you too, Rachel. Why don't you come in and sit down?" she suggested to her irate great granddaughter.

Rachel shook her head and crossed her arms, "Not until you tell me what's going on!"

Doctor Leonard McCoy came through the still open door quickly, "Look here, I told you to keep it down." he reminded Kaitlyn. He glanced at the young woman that was blocking the door and he noted the family resemblance immediately. "I'm Doctor Leonard McCoy." he introduced himself.

Rachel Reed took a close look at the doctor and shook his hand, "I'm Doctor Rachel Reed. This woman is my great grandmother - though I am at a loss as to why she looks like she does right now. Perhaps you know?" she questioned him.

Leonard McCoy shook his head and backed up, "I'm not getting involved in this discussion - you need to talk to Kaitlyn." he pointed out. "But keep it down!" he barked, then left the room and had the door shut.

Rachel raised an eyebrow. _Kaitlyn_ - the doctor had called her Kaitlyn, meaning he was more than just her doctor. "What's he to you?" she questioned as she came closer to the bed.

Kaitlyn chuckled softly, "I'll explain that later." She looked at her great granddaughter thoughtfully, "You've had a very impressive career - which is why I suppose Admiral Marcus had you handle Commander Harrison."

Rachel Reed shook her head, "He's not John Harrison - he's Khan." she pointed out quickly.

"I know who he really is, Rachel. I just wasn't sure if you knew." Kaitlyn sighed and indicated for her to sit down. "I am conducting the investigation on Marcus and the Section."

"How is it you look like you do?"

"My Mother was El-Aurian, I'm half El-Aurian - we've always told the family that I'm going to live a very long time." Kaitlyn reminded her.

"Yes, but you don't look like you're a day over forty. I've always seen you with grey in your hair." she pointed out.

"I had it added when I came to family events here on Earth - it was easier than explaining why I didn't appear to age. Rachel, I understand that this may be unsettling to you - but I have a whole other career now. And I need to ask you about your involvement." Kaitlyn said firmly.

Rachel nodded, "Admiral Marcus approached me four years ago. They'd found the Botany Bay. He had an elaborate plan he wanted to carry out and he asked for my help."

"Why?"

Rachel shrugged, "Because I'm very good at what I do. Marcus wanted to leave sixteen of Khan's men on the ship, and I selected which ones. The rest of them, we brought back to the Kelvin facility. Khan doesn't remember it, but he was woken up two years ago to start working on the designs of the ship."

"Why doesn't he remember?" Kaitlyn questioned.

"Admiral Marcus had a drug that he said would wipe his memories - and it worked." Rachel pulled up the compound on her PADD and showed it to her great grandmother. "I was surprised that it did the job. When we woke him up a year ago, he didn't remember a thing from before."

Kaitlyn looked at the drug compound on the PADD and frowned. It was the same one that had been used on her to wipe her memories. _Someone knew of their shared familial genetics_. Possibly just Alexander Marcus, but she doubted it. "Why did Marcus have him put back in cryostasis? Why not just keep him working?"

"Marcus said he needed time for the bulk of the ship to be built and he didn't want Khan running around." Rachel had noticed the frown that had crossed her great grandmother's face. "You recognized the drug?"

Kaitlyn nodded, "It has been used on me previously." She looked at Rachel, "Why would you agree to all of this - doesn't it go against the Hippocratic oath on the treatment of patients?"

Rachel narrowed her eyes, "Khan was not harmed. Besides, that's why I agreed to be his handler - to watch after him."

"You knew that Marcus had threatened Khan's crew, if he didn't comply?"

"Yes, I knew that was the only way to control Khan. His crew - _his family_, is his Achilles heel." she confirmed. "At first, I had not agreed with Admiral Marcus, but he convinced me that we needed to be proactive against the Klingons, and other possible adversaries. And he was right - we encountered Nero - who had destroyed the _Kelvin_, and Nero up and destroyed Vulcan. We can't just sit back and wait for the next enemy to announce themselves."

Kaitlyn realized that her great granddaughter's sense of morals had been warped - whether it be from the influence of Marcus, or because of her father being killed on the _Kelvin_. "Did you realize that Admiral Marcus was trying to start a war with the Klingons?"

"No, I just knew that he wanted to be prepared." Rachel frowned, "I understand my part in this is in the grey area, but I protected Khan's people. When Admiral Marcus discovered that Khan had put his crew in the torpedoes, he wanted to destroy them all. I convinced Marcus to keep them, that we could still control Khan and get him to come back. He was supposed to send a message to Khan and tell him that they were still alive."

"Marcus didn't send a message to Khan. In fact, he kept Khan's crew in the torpedoes and he wanted Captain Kirk to send them all slamming into Kronos to start a war." Kaitlyn explained.

"That's not what Admiral Marcus said he was going to do." Rachel looked down at her PADD. _Could Admiral Marcus have been using her the whole time? _She thought he'd been a kindred soul that just wanted to protect Earth and its people.

"How did you get along with Khan while you were his handler?" Kaitlyn asked as she watched the younger woman closely.

"We tolerated each other - he's arrogant and pompous. He wanted nothing to do with anyone. He did his job, he treated everyone like they were beneath him. I must give him credit, a few people managed to push his buttons and he didn't kill them right then and there. We had our differences, but he didn't treat me like I was_ as stupid _as everyone else." the younger woman admitted.

"He must have done something for you to stick up for his crew." Kaitlyn prodded gently.

Rachel kept her focus on her PADD as she could feel her face flush slightly. Her great grandmother didn't need to know everything. She took a deep breath, "Some of the things he did, some of the things he said, made me realize that there was a human behind his arrogant attitude." She finally looked up, "G.G. - if Admiral Marcus didn't send Khan that message, then the Admiral is responsible for everything that happened."

Kaitlyn smiled at the nickname her family had bestowed upon her. "I agree with you, and as John Harrison's Advocate, I will make sure that is understood." She indicated for Rachel to stand up and come closer. "I need for you to send me all of your reports when you worked with Harrison, and I also need you to detail what Admiral Marcus wanted to do after he discovered the cryotubes had been placed in the torpedoes, and your conversation with him afterwards."

Rachel nodded, "I will." She smiled at her great grandmother as she patted her hand, "I hope I look as good as you do when I'm over a hundred years old."

Kaitlyn chuckled, "I hope so too." She watched as the young woman turned to leave.

Rachel stopped, "When you see him next time, will you tell him I'm sorry?" she requested.

Kaitlyn raised an eyebrow, "Sorry for what?"

Rachel keyed the door open, "He'll know. I'll send you the information soon, G.G." she promised, then left.

Kaitlyn sat back and frowned slightly_. What was all that about? _She looked back at the door when it opened again.

Leonard came in and grinned, "That girl's got a temper, just like you do."

Kaitlyn nodded distractedly as she pulled up the drug compound that had been used to wipe her and Khan's memories. "Leonard, someone knows that the drug compound that worked on me would work on Khan - how could they know that?" she questioned quietly.

Leonard frowned, "They used it on him - the same compound?" he asked as he quickly tried to come up with possibilities. "Look, you two share some of the same genetic material - it's not like you're really related to one another, not really. I guess they could have cross referenced his DNA to a database that has yours in it. But, that would mean that they also had access to your medical records and knew that compound had worked on you. Who would have that kind of access? Your records are sealed."

Kaitlyn put down the PADD, "Admiral Marcus could have accessed those records, or given someone else the access to those records." She took a deep breath, "Looks like I have something else to add to my list to investigate."

Leonard nodded and tried to push the growing knot in his stomach away. He pulled out his scanner and ran it over her ribs. "Almost completely healed." he announced. He raised an eyebrow and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "You know, I could be persuaded to release you from the hospital tonight."

Kaitlyn smiled slowly.

XXXXX

TBC.

Reviews are greatly appreciated!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters, only my OC - Kaitlyn Donovan.

This is the sequel to _The Ripple Effect_.

Query - What happened in the months between Khan's capture and him being put back in the cryotube?

Thank you everyone that is reading/favorite/following this story - especially to Just a Crazy-Man, Emberka-2012, bonesfan4ever, IrishBug74, and Silver-ShadowSpark for the reviews!

** Broken Remnants**

Chapter 5

Kaitlyn rolled over on the bed and quickly realized that she was alone. She got up and went through her morning routine and by the time she had her Starfleet uniform on, there was a message on her PADD from Leonard explaining that Jim had some severe complications - though he was relatively stable at the moment. The first item on her agenda was to visit Khan since she hadn't seen him in a few days.

Khan watched as Kaitlyn came into his quarters. "I'm glad to see that you have recovered." This was the first time they were in the same room with nothing separating the two of them. He could detect the faint smell of peaches and ginger from her soap and shampoo. She wore no other perfumes, he was surprised - many women from this time period wore conflicting smells that assaulted his keen senses.

Kaitlyn smiled softly, "Thank you for your part in getting me to Starfleet Medical."

Khan gave her a slight nod, "I have catalogued everything from the facility, as you requested." he clicked on an icon on his PADD and sent the information to hers. He watched as she scrolled through the information and read as fast as he did. _ Interesting_. "There are quite a few programs that are worthy of continuing - I hope you won't be getting rid of all of them." he stated.

Kaitlyn glanced up at him, "We will continue some of them, others will be postponed until a later date." she acquiesced as she clasped her hands and PADD loosely behind her back. "Are you ready to see the rest of the facility you can use?" she inquired.

Khan looked at her skeptically, "I thought this room was to be the only place I was allowed to exist in."

Kaitlyn shook her head, "No - and I never meant for you to have to stay just here for so long. But I certainly wasn't going to have anyone else show you around." She went to the panel and pushed the button. "This is your quarters. You understand that if anyone else visits you, the partition will go up?" she questioned.

Khan nodded as he stepped closer to her, "I understand."

Kaitlyn smiled, "Very good. Come with me." She headed down the corridor to the right to another door. She placed her hand on the panel for identification and the door slid open.

"Good morning, General Donovan-Reed. Good morning, Khan." ELSIE's computerized voice stated.

"Good morning, ELSIE." Kaitlyn said as she walked to the center of the 50'x50' room.

Khan quickly took in the dimensions of the room and noted all of the objects on each of the dark walls. "What is this room?" he questioned.

"Anything. If you could be any place in the world - what would you like to see?" she inquired.

"My crew." he said without hesitation.

The room quickly shifted and they were standing in between the rows of the cryotubes that held his people.

Khan went to each one slowly, after fifteen minutes he came back over to her. "How is this possible?"

"This is a holographic room. You requested to see your crew and ELSIE accessed the feed from where your crew are. She analyzed the details and projected their images here."

He touched one of the cryotubes, it felt just like it really did. "But how are these objects solid, if they are images?"

"These are solid projections, ones that can be interacted with." she explained.

"ELSIE can materialize anything?" he asked.

"Anything in her database that you are not restricted from." Kaitlyn nodded.

"ELSIE, I'd like to see the gardens at the Taj Mahal." he requested and their surroundings quickly changed again. Khan was impressed with the detail. There was even a slightly warm breeze coming from the east. He closed his eyes at the feel of the warmth from the sun. _But, it wasn't really the sun, and he wasn't really here - it was just an illusion, though a very good one_. He opened his eyes and glanced at her, "This is very advanced."

She shrugged, "Not for some species. I got this idea from the Xyrillians a hundred years ago, though we didn't actually build it for a while."

"You and your late husband?" he surmised.

Kaitlyn only nodded as she started to walk beside the placid pool of water.

Khan walked beside her, his keen senses noticing the slight shift in the projections to keep them from walking into any walls. _Very clever_. "You have something on your mind." he stated.

"A few things." she stopped and turned to him. "Someone knew about our similar genetics and used a drug on you, that had worked on me, to wipe your memories."

Khan's eyes narrowed. _When had his memories been wiped?_ He could feel his anger starting to boil. "What else?" he demanded coldly.

"I found out that another member of my family had been manipulated by Admiral Marcus - Commander Rachel Reed."

Khan nodded slowly, "I realized she was your great granddaughter when I went through your family history." he frowned.

"I spoke with her yesterday. She wanted me to tell you that she was sorry. She wouldn't tell me what she was sorry for - she said you'd know." she watched for his reaction.

His jaw twitched, "Yes, well - it doesn't matter anymore."

Kaitlyn sighed, "For what it's worth to you, she's the one that convinced Admiral Marcus not to destroy your family when he found their cryotubes in the torpedoes." She started to walk away, but he grabbed her arm.

"_She_ convinced him?" he asked skeptically.

Kaitlyn glanced at his hand, "Let go." she demanded as she could feel her reflex to fight him go into overdrive.

Khan let go of her arm - he could feel the aggression radiating from her. He did not understand.

"El-Aurians adapt to other species - my body is adapting to your heightened senses." she warned him.

He nodded slowly as he contemplated this new information about her.

They walked silently for a few minutes.

"Is there anyone you think that Admiral Marcus would have entrusted with this information?" she inquired.

"Captain Cartwright." Khan's lip curled into a snarl. "The man was always there, always ready to do Marcus' bidding."

Kaitlyn stopped once again. "I'll pay him a visit." She looked around, "You may go freely from your quarters to this room. You may call up this room to be anything you please - within reason. It can also be a lab, if you want a place to work in. If you feel up to it, I have a few more things I'd like for you to research." she sent information to him from her PADD.

He looked down at the new icon flashing on the PADD in his hands, then back her. "I will help you." he nodded.

"Thank you, Khan." she gave him a small smile. "I will be back tomorrow." she promised.

"Kaitlyn, be careful around Cartwright - he's a slippery fellow." he cautioned her.

She tilted her head slightly as she thought it over. "I'll take precautions." she walked across the room. "ELSIE, door please." she requested.

Khan thought it interesting that Kaitlyn had known where the door had been, even he'd been slightly thrown off by the holographic projections. After she left, Khan looked up slightly, "ELSIE, I'd like a lab, please." he requested. He smiled as the surroundings changed to a typical Starfleet Science lab. He began requesting various equipment that he would need to conduct his research. When he was satisfied, he spoke again. "ELSIE, save this as Khan's lab."

"Khan's lab is saved. Would you like this to be your default program?" ELSIE inquired.

"Yes." he acknowledged. He clicked on the PADD and read over the other things she wanted him to research. He sat down on the stool and began his queries.

XXXXX

Kaitlyn decided she would go to the Vulcan Embassy to speak with Ambassador Spock. She remembered he mentioned a plot to kill the Klingon Chancellor in his timeline, and that Cartwright had been involved. She needed his insight before she approached Marcus' right hand man.

Ambassador Spock nodded as he approached her where she sat on the bench in the gardens. "I am pleased that you have healed so quickly." He indicated for her to remain seated as he sat down beside her. "May I make a personal observation?" he inquired.

"Of course." she nodded and turned to him.

"I am glad that you and Doctor McCoy have become so close. In the other universe he never had such a relationship and he was very lonely." he stated as he watched her.

Kaitlyn smiled.

"Is there a significance to this bench for you?" Ambassador Spock questioned. This was a nice enough spot, it was near the water feature and a few pleasingly fragrant plants around - but he did not understand its significance to her. He always found her here.

Kaitlyn smiled wistfully, "When I came to speak to Ambassador Soval as a friend, we would sit here. I later found out that this was also Ambassador T'Pol's favorite spot. It is a place to remember people from my past." She sat up and pulled her shoulders back, "I have a few questions about Cartwright."

Ambassador Spock stood up.

Kaitlyn quickly followed suit and looked at him, puzzled.

He indicated for her to walk with him, "It would not be fitting to speak of Cartwright at your bench."

"It's not my bench." she said softly as she walked with him down the path to one of the tables. She was grateful that he had the forethought to move the conversation elsewhere.

Ambassador Spock raised an eyebrow, "Perhaps it should be."

They sat down and discussed the incident surrounding the assassination of the Klingon Chancellor and Cartwright in further detail.

XXXXX

Captain Lance Cartwright stood up from his desk at Starfleet Headquarters and watched the pre-recorded press conference with interest.

The reporters were slinging questions at Commander Kaitlyn Donovan before she'd even reached the podium.

She smiled gently at the sea of reporters, "Good afternoon. I'm Commander Donovan and I am Commander John Harrison's Advocate. Commander Harrison's Starfleet Tribunal will begin in three weeks, during that time we will be gathering all evidence to present our case."

"Will Commander Harrison be pleading insane?" one reporter quickly asked.

Donovan looked at the reporter squarely, "Commander Harrison is not insane, but he is heart- broken. He was forced to work on the weapons project for Admiral Alexander Marcus because of his intellect. His family was kidnapped and held against their will, their lives were threatened if he did not comply. Through the course of recent events, Admiral Marcus ordered their deaths."

There was a collective gasp from some of the audience. This was something the public hadn't known.

Commander Kaitlyn Donovan looked up slowly and took a deep breath. "Commander Harrison does not deny his involvement in the bombing of the Kelvin Archives, nor that on Starfleet Headquarters - he is willing to accept whatever punishment the Tribunal sees fit."

"What about the ship that slammed into San Francisco that killed almost three thousand people - he was flying it, right?" another reporter questioned.

"Admiral Alexander Marcus' ship had been severely damaged, its systems were failing. Commander Harrison was the only one alive or conscious on the ship. I know for a fact that a ship that size can not be optimally run by only one person in the best of circumstances. We truly regret the destruction to this beautiful city caused by Admiral Marcus' ship. We can only offer our prayers to those whose lives were lost and their families."

The reporters were quiet for a few moments.

"Why are you his Advocate?" the first reporter asked.

Commander Donovan nodded at the question, "Admiral Marcus sent the _Enterprise_ after Commander Harrison and ordered them to execute him. Luckily, Captain Kirk believes in the justice system and was bringing Commander Harrison back to Earth to stand trial. Admiral Marcus didn't want that to happen. Admiral Marcus tried, and almost succeeded in destroying the _Enterprise_ and her crew." She paused and looked at each of the reporters, "No matter what crimes a person has been charged with, they deserve a fair trial and an Advocate to represent them."

Captain Cartwright frowned. Donovan was an excellent public speaker. Every one of her gestures, eye contacts, and pauses had been perfectly well placed. She had told the truth, but not the whole truth. Yes, Admiral Marcus had ordered Khan's crews death when he ordered the torpedoes to be launched at Qo'noS. Her pause after that allowed everyone to assume the man's family had been killed. _Very cunning, indeed_. She was poised and photogenic - if she was allowed to speak to the public much more, she could do a world of damage to his plans to continue Alexander Marcus' work.

Cartwright looked up as his Aide rapped on the open door.

"Captain, Commander Donovan is here to see you." the young Lieutenant announced.

Cartwright clicked the monitor off, "Send her in." He smiled and purposefully relaxed his shoulders. He'd decided what approach to take with her. "Good afternoon, Commander Donovan." he shook her hand as she walked over to him. "Please, come in." he indicated for her to sit at the small circular table.

Commander Kaitlyn Donovan smiled back easily, "Thank you for meeting with me today - I'm sure recent events have made you very busy."

He nodded, "Admiral Marcus screwed up royally. I knew about the projects building up our defenses against the Klingons - but I had no idea he wanted to start a war with them." he shook his head in mock frustration as he sat back in his chair.

Donovan nodded as she turned on her PADD, "I have a few questions about some of those projects."

Cartwright indicated for her to ask away.

When her questions had slowed to a trickle almost two hours later, he decided to question her. "Why did you decide to get involved with this?"

She looked up slowly from her PADD, "You heard the press conference." she indicated to him she knew he'd been watching it when she arrived. She'd wondered how long it would take for him to come out from behind the facade he'd put on for her.

He leaned forward, "I know you're investigating the Section's involvement."

Kaitlyn Donovan set the PADD down on the table and raised an eyebrow innocently, "The Section?" she inquired.

Cartwright's eyes narrowed, "Yes, the Section. Marcus appointed me as his Second-in-Command, since he died I now have access to all of his files." She was trying to play stupid and it was making him upset.

Kaitlyn nodded, "An oversight in the Security Protocols - I will make sure the issue is addressed." She tapped her finger on the table, "Regardless if you are now the Acting Head of Starfleet Intelligence, you shouldn't have knowledge of the Section until you obtain the rank of Admiral - something to which you are not." she pointed out.

She was blatantly insulting him! Cartwright stood up, "You need to watch what you say." he indicated hotly.

"I'm only pointing out the obvious facts - you are not ready, nor qualified, to be promoted to Admiral, nor the Head of Starfleet Intelligence." she shrugged.

Cartwright slammed his hand on the table, "I've known about and had access to the Section since Marcus got me on board two years ago - don't tell me I don't know what I'm doing!"

Donovan nodded, then picked up her PADD as she stood up, "Thank you for confirming my suspicions."

Cartwright winced when he realized she'd led him into confessing he'd had access to the Section's files. His fists clenched, "You . . . you . . ."

Kaitlyn raised an eyebrow, "As I stated, you are not ready to be the Head of Starfleet Intelligence. You must learn how to control the situations you find yourself - it's obvious you don't know how to do that. If I have any further questions for you, I'll ask them at the Tribunal." she turned to leave.

"I haven't dismissed you, Commander." Cartwright barked, trying to regain some of his authority.

She turned, "If you have access to the Section files, then you know that I severely outrank you." She turned and left before he could come up with a retort. She'd gotten all the answers she needed from him. She sighed deeply as she headed to Admiral Marcus' office, it had been sealed off until after the investigation was completed - but she had access. She glanced back and saw Cartwright glaring at her from his door, then he headed back in. It probably wasn't wise to provoke him, but she had needed to get answers and she had figured out what it was going to take to get him to confess his knowledge and access.

She tapped her access card to the reader on the wall and the door to Marcus' huge office opened.

XXXXX

Captain Lance Cartwright was furious when he got back to his desk and sat down. He punched an icon on his monitor. When the young Commander's face came on the screen, he leaned closer, "We need to move the timeline up in London." he instructed.

The Commander nodded, "What about the Debriefings?" he inquired.

Cartwright smirked, "I've already taken care of it."

XXXXX

Kaitlyn Donovan headed to her quarters on the _Daystrom_ and nodded to passing crew as they headed over to _Enterprise_ to work on the nightshift repairs.

"Commander Donovan!" a voice called out as she stepped into the turbolift. She held the door and waited.

Commander Tala stepped in and nodded. "Thank you for recommending me as First Officer." the Andorian woman stated.

Kaitlyn smiled, "I know you'll do well - you're more than capable of handling this crew."

"Do you know who the new First Contact Officer will be yet?" Tala inquired as they stepped off the lift and walked to Donovan's quarters.

"Lieutenant Commander Piper. She's got a good head on her shoulders and is very quick thinking. She's arriving the day after tomorrow and I'll bring her up to speed about the crew." They stopped in front of Kaitlyn's quarters.

The Andorian woman grinned, "We're going to have a Sending Off Party for a few of you on Thursday - don't try to skip out."

Kaitlyn nodded, "I promise I'll be there."

"Good night, Commander." Tala turned and continued down the corridor.

Kaitlyn sighed softly as she quickly changed into her tank and sleep shorts and crawled into bed. She was tired. She pulled the covers up to her chest and closed her eyes.

Her communicator chirped on the nightstand beside her. She opened her eyes as she picked it up, "This is Donovan."

"Commander, CMO McCoy from the _Enterprise_ is here and requesting to come aboard. Evidently, he jumped on one of our shuttles coming back." the shuttle technician explained the situation.

Kaitlyn sat up quickly and had the lights turn on. She hadn't been expecting him - in fact she'd expected him to be busy at Starfleet Medical tonight. "He can come aboard, I'll be there in just a few minutes." She threw the covers off and got up.

"Actually, Ma'am - Commander Tala is already escorting Doctor McCoy to you." he quickly replied.

Kaitlyn winced. Tala was going to needle her to no end about McCoy. "Thank you, Ellison. Donovan out." She closed the communicator and headed to the door to her quarters, then opened it when it chimed.

Tala's grin widened at Kaitlyn's obvious discomfort in the situation. She noted McCoy's overnight bag and gave a knowing look to Kaitlyn. "Found him yelling at Ellison to let him on board - figured I'd bring him to you." she shrugged. "I invited Doctor McCoy to your Sending Off on Thursday."

Kaitlyn nodded and indicated for Leonard to come in. "Thank you, Tala." She quickly closed the door before the woman could get out any snide remarks about her relationship with the doctor.

Leonard came in and set his bag on the couch. _He shouldn't have come_. It was obvious that she'd already been in bed. _Maybe she didn't want him here, maybe she wanted to be left alone_. He ran a tired hand through his hair.

Kaitlyn smiled gently as she rubbed his upper arm, "Yelling at my crew? Jumping aboard one of our shuttles to get over here? You really wanted to get over here, didn't you? I thought you'd be busy at Starfleet Medical." she admitted to him.

Leonard breathed out a sigh of relief, _she hadn't been avoiding him_. "You could have stayed over at my place."

"I wasn't going to ingratiate myself and let myself in your quarters when you're not there." she pointed out.

He shook his head, "You're not ingratiating yourself when I want you there." He touched her side, "Look, I've been sleeping better since you got back - and I know you have too. I just . . ." he closed his eyes, _he didn't know how to say what he meant_. He opened his eyes when she ran her fingers gently over his chest. She was smiling.

Kaitlyn understood. She didn't want to be alone again either. "I need to stay here tomorrow and Thursday, you're more than welcome to join me."

Leonard sighed softly, "You're transferring to the _Enterprise_ on Friday?"

She nodded as she headed back to the bedroom and climbed under the covers. "What time did you leave this morning?"

Leonard started changing out of his uniform, "At 0230 - Jim had an allergic reaction." He shook his head tiredly.

Kaitlyn closed her eyes as she reviewed everything she had to do tomorrow. The Senior Officers were being debriefed tomorrow through the day. She needed to analyze the information Khan had compiled for her already. She had a meeting with Captain Jacobs and she had to go through all of the communications she had ELSIE pull from Marcus and Cartwright. She frowned - she really didn't have time to sleep, but she knew if she didn't get some sleep she would end up regretting it later.

Leonard laid down beside her, "Why are you frowning?" he questioned as he ran his hand through her hair slowly.

Kaitlyn opened her eyes and watched the concerned look cross his features. "Just thinking about everything I need to get done over the next few days." She tried to smile and ease his apprehension. She moved closer and ran her hand under his shirt and rubbed his sides gently. "Have I told you how much I missed you waking me up this morning?"

Leonard gave her a lop-sided grin, "No, but I think I missed waking you up more."

She kissed his lips gently, then pulled back slightly as he ran his hand over her hip. She could still feel his apprehension, he still had that nagging voice in the back of his mind that kept saying she was just going to reject him and toss him aside. "Leonard, I know that I'm quiet and contemplative at times - but that doesn't mean that I don't want to be with you. I don't want to intrude in your personal space, that's why I didn't let myself into your quarters - do you understand?" she wanted to make sure he understood her reasoning.

He watched her intently. _What had he done to deserve this woman?_ Leonard nodded. "Can I make a suggestion? You don't have to answer now." he said quickly.

Kaitlyn raised an eyebrow and waited for him to continue.

"No matter what happens during the day, can we make a point to be together at night?" he suggested. _There_, he'd said it. He closed his eyes and swallowed hard. He didn't want her to say no.

She could hear him mentally berating himself. If she every got a hold of his ex-wife, she would be seriously tempted to knock the woman out. He didn't deserve to be this self-doubting in their relationship. She touched the katra points on his face and let him feel what she felt for him.

Leonard's eyes snapped open as a warm feeling flooded through him. His eyes softened as Kaitlyn smiled and shared with him just how much she cared for him, how much she'd missed him. She let him feel just how much she craved his touch, how much she enjoyed being with him.

She removed her fingers from his face and waited.

Leonard held her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers, then kissed her hand. He could distinctly remember how she felt about him, and it made him smile. "So, that's how you feel about me?"

Kaitlyn nodded, "Don't for a minute doubt it. If you ever want to know how I'm feeling, just ask." She smiled as he yawned, "I think you need some sleep, doctor."

He didn't want to go to sleep, she'd reminded him just how much he craved her touch. But he was running on fumes, and so was she. He kissed her gently, "Promise I'll wake up in the morning."

Kaitlyn laid her head on his chest, "Not if I wake you up first." She smiled as he chuckled and rubbed her back lazily until they both fell asleep.

XXXXX

0850, Starfleet Command

Commander Spock looked out the window and focused on his heart beat and tried to drown out the chatter from the officers behind him. They were waiting in the corridor for the Debriefings to begin. Starfleet Council wanted to speak to all of them first, then they would debrief each one of them individually as the others waited their turn.

"Don't they know that I have a ship to oversee the repairs of?" Montgomery Scott complained in a hushed voice. He'd already given them his lengthy written report.

Leonard McCoy crossed his arms, "They know. _We all_ have other things to be attending to." he pointed out. He was annoyed to no end. The only thing that made him feel better was that Doctor Kor was watching over Jim while he was stuck here.

Uhura moved over to Spock as she took herself out of the heated discussion that started up. She clasped her hands behind her back and stood beside him quietly, not wanting to disturb him.

"You are not disturbing me." Spock said softly as he glanced at her.

She smiled, "Do you think this will take long?" she asked quietly.

"It will take as long as the Council deems necessary." he stated simply. He realized that perhaps she was just asking for reassurance. "You have nothing to worry about, your actions were justified."

Nyota raised an eyebrow, "Are you talking about when I stabbed a Klingon while illegally being on Qo'noS, or when I stunned a man seven times in order to capture him so his blood could be used without his consent?" her lips drew into a fine line. She didn't think that the Council would see her actions as justified - not by any means.

Spock opened his mouth to reply, but shut it quickly as Doctor Marcus approached. He looked at her, puzzled as to why she was here.

Carol Marcus saw Commander Spock's questioning look. "Good morning, Commander Spock. I was sent a summons this morning to be here for the debriefing. I guess they want all of us here at once."

Commander Spock found himself becoming uneasy. That feeling inside of him that sometimes crawled out before bad things happened. He tried to quell the feeling.

The doors opened and the guards indicated for them to enter.

They walked in and stood at attention as they waited for the Council members to come in.

Spock turned as Commander Donovan entered and came over to stand beside him. "I did not know that you had been summoned, Commander."

She nodded as the Council members walked in and then took their seats at the other side of the table.

Admiral Durkin looked at the young officers that stood before them as the doors to the Council Chambers were closed. "Be seated."

They took their seats and waited.

Admiral Krauss sighed softly. They'd read over all of their detailed reports, and the Council had already discussed them at length with one another - but there were a few questions they needed answers to. "We realize that all of you are very busy and have a lot of things to take care of. We will start as soon as Captain Cartwright arrives."

Commander Spock felt that uneasy feeling coming back again. _What was the logic in having them all here at the same time? _He looked at Commander Donovan as she started typing a query quickly on her PADD. "Commander?" he inquired.

"Something's not right, Commander Spock." she spoke quietly.

"Commander Donovan, is there a problem?" Admiral Durkin asked.

Spock glanced at her PADD and noted she was requesting the location of Captain Cartwright.

Cartwright was still in his office, sitting at his desk.

Donovan and Spock looked at each other as a possible reason for them all being in the same room dawned upon them.

XXXXX

Captain Lance Cartwright leaned closer to his monitor as it kept him up to speed on all his operations. Everyone that needed to be in the Council Chambers was there. His hired Romulan assassin had reached the fifth floor of Starfleet Medical, and a team of heavily armed men had just beamed into the facility Khan was being held. He smiled. Soon, no one would question his authority.

XXXXX

TBC.

Reviews are greatly appreciated!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters, only my OC - Kaitlyn Donovan.

This is the sequel to _The Ripple Effect_.

Query - What happened in the months between Khan's capture and him being put back in the cryotube?

Thank you everyone that is reading/favorite/following this story - especially to Just a Crazy-Man, Emberka-2012, bonesfan4ever, IrishBug74, and Silver-ShadowSpark for the reviews!

** Broken Remnants**

Chapter 6

Fifth floor, Starfleet Medical

Doctor Kor hummed to himself his favorite Klingon opera as he headed down the corridor to Captain Kirk's room. He came in and set his cup down on the side table and pulled out his medical scanner and started the daily assessment of Captain Kirk's slow recovery. His vitals were getting stronger each day, Kor calculated the man would be waking up on his own in about five days. He nodded again at the readings on the monitor as he took a long gulp of his drink, then set it back down as he started another scan.

The door opened.

Kor quickly assessed the Romulan holding the disruptor and lunged himself at the man before he could aim his weapon at James Kirk. He tossed the Romulan out the open door and against the corridor wall. Kor gave a guttural roar as he stepped out into the hall and hit the emergency button on the outside panel of the door, effectively notifying security and sealing Kirk's door shut.

The Emergency claxon sounded over head.

Kor picked the Romulan up and slammed him against the other wall, "Who sent you?" he demanded as he kept his grip on the Romulan's throat.

Kor's eyes widened as he felt the blade being shoved into him, twisted, and then pulled out.

Doctor Kor slid down the wall and into unconsciousness.

XXXXX

Khan sat on the stool at his desk, six PADDs spread out in front of him as he continued to read the information that scrolled on the monitor before him.

He looked up quickly as he felt a vibration through the room. "ELSIE, what was that?" he questioned as he stood up from his work.

"The outer door of the corridor on this floor has been breached. There are six heavily armed humans heading your way." ELSIE stated.

"Are they Starfleet?" he questioned.

"Inconclusive."

Khan slowly smiled - it had been a week since he'd had a good bout. "Notify Kaitlyn of the situation." he directed ELSIE.

"Unable to comply. All communication to the Conference Room she is in have been disrupted."

Khan's eyes narrowed, "ELSIE, you must find a way to communicate with her. Are the doors to the Conference room locked?"

"Affirmative."

Khan quickly moved to the panel on the wall and began programming a scene as he spoke to the computer. "Route your signal through the security protocols that are currently running in the Conference Room." he directed. He turned slightly and looked as the room changed around him. He could hear the intruders on the other side of the door. "ESLIE, open the door."

XXXXX

Secondary Conference Room, Starfleet Headquarters

Commander Kaitlyn Donovan frowned as the screen on her PADD flickered, then went blank.

The audio devices on the walls gave a quick squeal.

"There are three situations that require your immediate attention." ELSIE's computerized voice announced.

Kaitlyn quickly stood up. There were only five circumstances in which ELSIE was authorized to reveal herself. "Explain." she directed.

Scotty came over to Kaitlyn - he'd recognized the voice.

"Security has been called to the fifth floor of Starfleet Medical. Doctor Kor is in critical condition. The Secured Facility has been breached by six armed intruders. Khan is currently repelling them. The doors to this room have been remotely locked and the Emergency Airborne Contaminant Protocols have been activated." ELSIE informed them.

The Admirals quickly reached for their communicators, only to be met with silence.

Spock looked at the crew around him, quickly calculating the situation they were now in. "Mister Scott, Chekov, Sulu, get the doors open. Uhura, the communication system. Doctor, we must find a way to stop the airborne contaminant protocol."

Leonard McCoy grimaced, "Right, or we're all going to be doused with radiation." He looked up at the ventilation grates. He frowned, the airflow had already been shut off. They didn't have much time. "The system is not registering that anyone is alive in here - there are security safeguards that are supposed to prevent this." he pointed out. He watched as Admiral Robert Reed walked over Kaitlyn.

Robert Reed looked at his mother. He knew she didn't want people to know who she really was, but the situation was dire. He glanced at the Admirals, then back to her. "You can trust them." he reassured her.

XXXXX

Captain Lance Cartwright smiled as he made his way down the corridor to the Conference Room. He glanced at his watch. The airborne containment protocols should have already done their work and irradiated everyone in the room. He would come in and 'find' them all dead.

He took a deep, calming breath then opened the door. His smile faltered.

The Admirals looked up from the Conference table.

Admiral Durkin nodded to Cartwright, "Come in - we're just about ready to debrief Commander Spock." he indicated the Commander sitting alone on the other side of the table.

Cartwright nodded as he slowly walked to his seat at the Conference table. "I thought we were speaking to all of them together?" he inquired and kept his voice even. _What the hell had gone wrong? _He'd seen the airborne containment protocols start before he'd left his office!

Admiral Krauss gave him a small smile, "You are ten minutes late. We've already spoken to them - they are waiting in the next room."

Cartwright nodded slowly, "I apologize for my late arrival. Shall we get started?" he suggested.

XXXXX

Kaitlyn materialized in the holographic room of the Secured Facility and quickly took note of all the carnage. "Khan?" she called out when she didn't see him in the room. She quickly made her way down the corridor and went into his quarters. "Khan?" she yelled.

He stepped out from his bathroom and raised an eyebrow at the panic in her voice. "I will be fine." he reassured her as he held the washcloth to the wound on his side.

Kaitlyn nodded slowly as she tried to calm herself down. It was her job to keep him safe, and somehow they'd found him and a way in. She indicated his bare torso, "What happened there?" she questioned as she walked over to him.

Khan winced, "One of them managed to slice me, while I was occupied with another one of them." He stood still as she removed the washcloth from his side and inspected the six inch gash that marred his perfect physique. He wondered why it hadn't healed itself yet.

"ELSIE, I need a triage kit." Kaitlyn requested.

"I'll be fine." Khan stated more firmly this time.

Kaitlyn looked up at him slowly, "You've been compromised, your body is requiring more time to heal this wound. I need to clean it and seal it."

Khan's eyes narrowed, "How much blood did they take out of me?" His fists clenched as he tried to control his temper.

"Enough to slow your healing. Please, let me fix this." she requested softly.

Her voice is what calmed him. Not because she spoke so softly, but because he noted the vulnerability behind it. She opened the triage kit as it materialized on his desk. She indicated for him to sit on the desk so she could see the wound better.

"What has happened?" he inquired.

She quickly explained what had happened in the Conference Room as she ran the medical scanner over him, then began to clean the wound.

"How did you manage to stop the airborne containment protocols?" he watched her carefully and tried not to flinch as she touch his skin.

Kaitlyn took a deep breath, then focused on healing his wound, "I used my security codes to override the system."

Khan realized that she'd had to reveal who she really was to the Command Council. "You did what you had to do to save them." he pointed out.

She finished sealing the wound and nodded slowly.

"What did the Admirals say?"

She put the equipment back in the kit, "That we'd discuss the situation later today."

"Who tried to kill you?" he questioned quietly as he put the shirt on she handed him.

Kaitlyn lifted her chin, "I think it was Captain Cartwright. We are gathering the evidence now."

He slid off the desk, "I will help you."

XXXXX

Scotty and Chekov watched as Sulu leaned against the wall casually and started up a conversation with the female Lieutenant. Sulu motioned for them that it was clear.

Scotty and Chekov quickly went into Captain Cartwright's office from the side door. They made their way to the desk. Scotty indicated for the youngster to sit down, "Get in there and allow Uhura access to his recent communications." he directed. He went to the door and quickly changed the code - it would at least give them a heads up that someone was trying to get in. He ran his hand over his face. Recent revelations had shed new light on Commander Donovan. He knew she'd worked for Section 31 previously, but he hadn't known just how long ago. When she'd used her codes to override the system, you could have heard a pin drop in the Conference Room. No one had that kind of authority. Well, evidently she did. She had quickly told them she thought that Captain Cartwright was continuing Admiral Marcus' work, but they needed evidence. She'd asked the Command Council to keep the ruse going that nothing had happened. She'd asked for the Enterprise crew's help to gather the evidence. He had a feeling that she was in a heap of trouble with the Command Council.

"I've sent the link to Lieutenant Uhura." Chekov reported.

Scotty nodded and quickly walked back over to the desk, "Good job. Now, open up all of his recent files."

XXXXX

Doctor Leonard McCoy frowned as he looked over the readings on the monitor, "Shit!" he cursed to himself. He didn't know enough about Klingon anatomy to operate on Kor.

A Klingon woman burst into the staging room, "I am here to help you, Doctor McCoy." she announced.

Leonard's eyebrows rose as he recognized the Klingon woman from the _Daystrom's_ crew, "Aren't you an Engineer?" he questioned.

Lurara nodded, "Yes, I am. But, I do know Klingon anatomy. Commander Donovan requested that I come help you." she explained.

McCoy nodded. He looked at one of the nurses, "Help her get suited up." he ordered as he headed into the Operating room. _Of course Kaitlyn had thought ahead and sent someone to help him. _He'd seen the looks on the Admiral's faces when she'd told them she was General Donovan-Reed. They were not pleased that they'd been deceived. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He needed to focus. He looked up as Lurara came over in her surgical gown. "Alright, explain what I'm looking at here."

XXXXX

Carol Marcus and Nyota Uhura were busy in the outer room going over all of Cartwright's latest communications.

"Why does the name Harewood sound familiar?" Nyota inquired.

Carol looked up quickly, "The officer that blew up the Kelvin Archives was Thomas Harewood. Why?" she moved closer to see the message.

"This message indicates his daughter, Lucille, made a complete recovery from a debilitating illness and that evidently Khan's blood had been used." Nyota frowned as she continued to read the message. "Cartwright ordered her to be brought here, so they could do testing on her blood."

"Surely her mother wouldn't agree to that." Carol pointed out.

Nyota's eyes widened. "The girl's mother was killed in a car accident yesterday."

Carol clenched her fists, "He couldn't have - would he? Would he have purposefully had her mother killed?" She stood up and started to pace, "Where is the girl being brought to?"

Nyota went through another communication, "Starfleet Medical - the Secured floor in the basement."

"I'll go watch over her." Carol stated firmly. She'd be damned if she'd let the child be experimented on.

"How will you get past security?" Nyota's brows furrowed.

Carol smiled, "I have a feeling Commander Donovan can get me access." She quickly commed Donovan as she headed to Starfleet Medical.

XXXXX

Captain Cartwright was getting very nervous. In the three hours since they'd started debriefing Commander Spock, he hadn't been able to get any sort of update. He glanced at his watch, "Why don't we take a brief recess for lunch?" he suggested.

Admiral Krauss nodded, "Sounds like a good idea. Commander Spock, be back in an hour."

Spock nodded and left.

Cartwright headed for the door and was stopped when Commander Donovan stepped in and closed the doors behind her.

"Going somewhere?" she questioned.

Lance Cartwright narrowed his eyes, "Get out of my way." he demanded.

She didn't move. Instead, she indicated for him to sit down in the chair Spock had just vacated.

He looked back at the Admirals and noted they were all watching him closely. "What lies has she told you?" he growled. "She's an alien and she's been using us all along. She's made deals with the Klingons and the Romulans - why do you think they agreed to cooperate on the _Daystrom_? She's just waiting to take control of Starfleet - she's already asserted her power in Section 31!" he pointed out.

Admiral Durkin took a deep breath, "Commander Donovan, did you collect the evidence needed?"

Donovan nodded and sent the information gathered to all of their PADDs.

Cartwright's eyes widened and he quickly ran to get out of the room. He got to the door and opened it, then was rendered unconscious by Commander Spock's nerve pinch.

Admiral Krauss looked at Commander Spock, "Thank you for you and your crew's assistance in this matter. If you will have Captain Cartwright taken into custody, we need to speak to Commander Donovan."

Commander Spock nodded to the Command Council members, then had the two Security guards haul Cartwright to the brig. He waved for the men he'd requested to come in. He did not want Kaitlyn Donovan to be alone during her questioning.

Ambassador Spock nodded to his younger self as he and Admiral Kenmore went over and stood beside Kaitlyn.

XXXXX

The Enterprise Officers were sitting in the waiting area of the private wing of Starfleet Medical. Kirk, Kor, and Lucille Harewood had all been moved to this wing because of what had transpired earlier.

Leonard McCoy stood up. He couldn't just sit here anymore. They had gotten word from Admiral Kenmore that they were on their way over here twenty minutes ago. He headed for Kor's room to check the Klingon doctor's vitals again.

Commander Spock looked up as he heard the outer doors of the private wing open. He stood up as Ambassador Spock, Admiral Kenmore, and Commander Donovan approached.

Kaitlyn gave them a small smile as she came over to them.

"You're not in trouble, now are you?" Montgomery Scott questioned her quickly.

She shook her head, "No - I just had a lot of explaining to do." She looked around at the young crew that had once again shown their resourcefulness today. "Thank you for everything you did today."

Commander Spock raised an eyebrow, "It was only logical for us to help since Captain Cartwright tried to kill us all this morning." he pointed out.

Kaitlyn turned to Ambassador Spock, "Thank you again, for standing with me."

He looked over her features thoughtfully, "I know you would do the same for me." He glanced behind her at the young crew of the _Enterprise_ and couldn't help but feel the absence of his friends from the other universe. "It has been a long day. I am glad you are safe, Kaitlyn."

"Ambassador, give me a moment and I'll come with you." Kenmore stated as he turned his attention to Kaitlyn. Trip Tucker smiled at his old friend. He'd had his classified files opened so the Command Council could see that he'd known Kaitlyn since before she'd found out about her heritage. "It was kinda nice the Command Council calling me by my real name, even though they'll never be able to do it again."

Kaitlyn nodded, "Thank you, Trip." she said softly as she hugged him tightly.

Trip patted her arm as she pulled back, "Don't be getting all mushy. We'll both be at your Sending Off tomorrow." He turned and headed off down the corridor with Ambassador Spock.

"Why don't we order food?" Nyota suggested. They had all mentioned earlier that they didn't feel like leaving tonight - not after they'd almost lost the Captain again. If it hadn't been for Doctor Kor, the assassin might have succeeded. The assassin had been found, killed himself, in the stairwell just minutes after the emergency klaxon had gone off. She thought of the sweet little girl, Lucille Harewood. The poor girl had been thrown into this mix and had lost both of her parents through no fault of her own. Carol Marcus was in with her now, she'd become very protective of the little girl.

As the group discussed where they were going to order food from, Kaitlyn went to Doctor Kor's room. She smiled as she saw Leonard looking over the monitors. "I'm sorry that it took me a little bit longer than expected to get here." she apologized softly.

Leonard McCoy engulfed her tightly. He didn't want to let her go. He'd been worried about her for so many reasons today. "Are you okay?" he questioned as he pulled back just enough to see her face.

She nodded slowly, "I'm fine. Thank you for saving Kor."

He shrugged, "Nothing like having a quick tutorial on Klingon anatomy right before you operate. Thanks for sending Lurara."

Kor grumped loudly from the bed, "Kiss her like you mean it and quit the small talk. You've done nothing but complain all afternoon." he pointed out.

Kaitlyn raised an eyebrow at Leonard, she hadn't known that Kor was awake. "Well?"

Leonard caressed her cheek gently with his thumb, then kissed her lips tenderly. He wanted to kiss her a lot harder, but he didn't know if he'd be able to put the brakes on once he started. He gave her a lop-side smile as she traced the little worry lines on his forehead, then stepped back and moved over to Kor's bed.

Kaitlyn looked over the Klingon doctor and gave him a stern look, "Don't you know by now that Romulans always carry a knife on them?"

Kor chuckled, "I won't forget anytime soon." He looked over her, "Tell him to let me out. I'll recover better on the ship."

Kaitlyn patted Kor's hand, "I'd feel better if you stayed here tonight."

Kor gave her a very small smile, "I guess I can rest here tonight - but tomorrow I want to leave." he added quickly.

Kaitlyn grinned. _Kor was such a push over_. She leaned closer to the Klingon, "I'll work him over tonight and get him to release you tomorrow." she winked.

Kor roared with laughter.

Leonard looked at her curiously as Kaitlyn led him out of the room. "What did you tell him?"

Kaitlyn shrugged, "You'll find out later. Did you know that the quickest road to recovery for a Klingon with an intestinal injury is through laughter?"

Leonard looked skeptical, "Are you pulling my leg?"

Kaitlyn smiled slowly, but didn't answer him. She held onto his hand and led him back to the others, "Come on, we need to see where they've decided to order food from."

XXXXX

TBC.

Reviews are greatly appreciated!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters, only my OC - Kaitlyn Donovan.

This is the sequel to _The Ripple Effect_.

Thank you everyone that is reading/favorite/following this story - especially to Just a Crazy-Man, Emberka-2012, bonesfan4ever, IrishBug74, Silver-ShadowSpark, numom1, and dialee for the reviews!

Chapter 7 - The Unexpected Visitor should know not to provoke Khan. . .

** Broken Remnants**

Chapter 7

Ambassador Spock walked into the private wing of Starfleet Medical and inwardly smiled at the Enterprise officers that were collapsed in various places all over the waiting room. The only officer not asleep was his younger counterpart.

Commander Spock looked up from the PADD he was reading and came over to his older self, "Can I help you?" he inquired softly, so as not to wake the others.

They walked down the hall, mirroring each other with their hands behind their backs.

Ambassador Spock looked over Commander Spock's features. He knew the young man had struggled with his recent overwhelming emotions. He had not asked for his help or advice, and as such - he would not thrust any upon him. But, there was something he needed to do and he felt it wise not to go behind his younger self's back. "I am going to ask Kaitlyn to let me speak to Khan."

Commander Spock blinked - several times, as he tried to process all of the emotions and thoughts that coursed through his mind. Anger, hatred, loathing, hurt, and fear were just the top few emotions that threatened to overwhelm him. "Why?" he asked quietly.

"The Khan I knew would stop at nothing to kill us all - he had a vendetta." Ambassador Spock sighed as he looked to his counterpart, "Yet, this one has shown compassion twice. He is different. I must not place my past views upon him."

"He is a madman - he tried to kill all of us on the Enterprise." Commander Spock pointed out quickly.

The older Vulcan nodded, "He killed Admiral Marcus because he threatened his crew and made him build weapons. He tried to kill you because he believed you had killed his crew." He glanced back at the waiting room area. "I know that I would do whatever it took to get my crew back, if they were taken from me. Wouldn't you?"

Commander Spock nodded, "Yes, I would." He could see where his older counterparts' logic was going. Perhaps he would meditate on this revelation later. "Do you think Commander Donovan will agree to the meeting?"

Ambassador Spock gave himself a small smile, "I believe she will understand." He glanced down at the PADD in Commander Spock's hand. "I did not mean to disturb your work." he apologized.

"I was just reading over the latest reports on the removal of all of the debris. It is going very quickly, since they are using the transporters and sifting through everything elsewhere. I had never thought of using the transporters in such a way." he admitted.

The older Vulcan nodded, "It has proven to be most efficient. Our father has extended the invitation for dinner this evening at the Vulcan Compound, if you are available."

"I will be attending Commander Donovan's Sending Off from the Daystrom tonight, but I should be able to be there for dinner." Commander Spock stated.

"I will be going to her Sending Off as well. I will see you at the Compound at 1700." Ambassador Spock nodded, then headed slowly into Captain Kirk's room.

He noted that Doctor McCoy and Kaitlyn were asleep on the couch and smiled to himself. He walked over to Jim Kirk's bed and watched the young man sleep. He touched his katra points and quickly checked to see how he was doing mentally. He pulled his hand away slowly - he would be waking up soon.

"How is he doing this morning?" Kaitlyn questioned softly as she came to stand beside the older Vulcan.

"He is doing well. I believe Doctor Kor is right, he will be waking up within a few days." Ambassador Spock nodded. He turned to Kaitlyn, "Why do you think Khan has been helpful recently?"

Kaitlyn smiled, "He was more than just helpful." She took a deep breath, "I have a few theories, but I'm not certain. You would like to see him?" she asked.

He nodded, "I find myself curious."

She nodded, "I am taking Leonard to go check Khan out this morning - he is not healing as fast as he normally does and I'm concerned. I can see if he could speak with you after lunch." She looked over at the couch as Leonard sat up and rubbed his face tiredly. She reached over and picked up the PADD that had the research on Khan's blood and handed it to him. "Leonard and I have learned a few things about Khan - it's on this PADD. It also concerns me, and I'd rather no one else know - including Commander Spock, unless it is absolutely necessary."

Ambassador Spock glanced at the PADD, "I will read this in confidence. Thank you, Kaitlyn."

Leonard McCoy watched as she handed Ambassador Spock the PADD. He knew she trusted the older Vulcan, but the more people that knew about Khan and Kaitlyn's similar genetics could become a problem. He rubbed Kaitlyn's arm, concern written on his face.

She smiled gently, "It will be fine." She watched as Ambassador Spock sat down on the chair beside Jim's bed and began to read. "If you'll excuse us. I'll comm you before 1200." Kaitlyn picked up their bags and handed Leonard's his, then they headed down the corridor. "Where can I shower and change around here?" She watched as a smirk developed on Leonard's face.

He lead her down to the fourth floor and tapped his badge on a door panel. He tugged her into the room and locked the door behind them.

Kaitlyn looked around at the small room. It had a cot, there was a bathroom, and the windows had a room darkening panel covering it. "A resting room for doctors?" she guessed.

Leonard nodded as he headed over to the bathroom and turned on the light, "For your convenience." he smiled.

Kaitlyn smiled slowly, "This is for doctors, not guests."

He pulled her closer and kissed her lips gently, "If we share the water in the shower, we won't be wasting resources."

Kaitlyn grinned and ran her hand through his disheveled hair, "Why, Doctor, what a logical suggestion. You're sounding more and more like Spock each day."

Leonard rolled his eyes as he went to turn on the water.

XXXXX

Khan looked up from his PADD as the door to his lab opened. He'd been expecting Kaitlyn, but not the man that followed her. "You've brought a visitor." Khan kept his voice even, trying not to show his anger as he stood up and crossed his arms. _This_ man had taken his blood and used it without his permission. "Are you here to take more of my blood, Doctor McCoy?" he questioned coldly.

Leonard glanced at Kaitlyn. She'd cautioned him about not provoking Khan. But, obviously Khan wasn't above trying to provoke him.

Kaitlyn stepped over to Khan, "I asked Doctor McCoy to come and check your wound since it's taking longer to heal."

"No thanks to him." Khan pointed out quickly.

Kaitlyn touched his upper arm gently, "Please Khan, I need to know how I can help you."

Leonard watched as Khan's eyes softened when she touched him. _This was something new_.

Khan frowned slightly, "I don't want him to touch me."

Much to Leonard's surprise, Kaitlyn nodded.

"Okay." She indicated for Khan to sit on the table and take off his shirt.

Leonard frowned. He didn't like her having to be this close to Khan - but she didn't seem to be the least bit afraid of him.

Khan sat on the table and removed his shirt and watched as the doctor handed the scanner to Kaitlyn. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Kaitlyn, "You didn't tell me you were in a sexual relationship with the doctor."

"It's none of your damn business!" Leonard snapped and watched the man through narrowed eyes.

Khan ignored the doctor and continued to focus on Kaitlyn.

She finished the scan and handed the scanner to Leonard, then finally looked up at Khan. "Why should I tell you?"

"I consider you family and as such, I feel the need to protect you." Khan stated evenly. "What are his intentions?"

Kaitlyn smiled softly and patted his leg, realizing he was just playing the protective role, "Thank you for helping yesterday." Khan nodded.

"What did he do?" Leonard questioned as he kept looking over the readings on the medical scanner.

"He told ELSIE how to warn us in the conference room." she explained.

That got Leonard's attention. He looked at Khan and wondered why the man had helped at all. He wondered briefly if Khan would have let them die if Kaitlyn hadn't been there. He swallowed his pride, "Thank you."

Khan looked at the doctor questionably. He wasn't sure if the man was being sincere.

Kaitlyn leaned closer to Khan, "He's a bit out of practice."

Leonard looked down at the scanner as it gave a whirl. His frown deepened. He walked over to them, "This new wound is over the same spot I had to treat when you were brought back up to the ship - which could be part of the reason it's slower to heal. But, that's not all."

"You . . took . . my . . blood." Khan reiterated through clenched teeth.

Leonard frowned at him, "I only took a pint - it wouldn't do this! Were you exposed to anything harmful?"

"I have only been here, and the other facility." Khan stated.

"Khan, did anyone visit you at the other facility?" Kaitlyn asked quickly.

"A doctor scanned me, took a sample of my blood, and the guards brought in my meals - that's it." Khan didn't like where her thinking was going. "I would have been able to taste or smell a poison." he pointed out to her.

Leonard was already searching the database for tasteless, odorless poisons. "It would help if I knew what I was looking for." he said softly to Kaitlyn.

She looked questionably at Khan.

He frowned, but held his arm out for her.

Kaitlyn took the extractor Leonard handed her and quickly drew a small amount of blood, then handed it back to him. "ELSIE, produce the necessary equipment for Doctor McCoy to run the tests on Khan's blood." she requested. She handed Khan his shirt to put back on.

The machines materialized about five feet away.

Leonard smiled as he went to the machines, "Nice place you got here."

Kaitlyn stayed by Khan as she kept going through the databases of poisons.

"Do you love him?" Khan's voice brought her out of her research.

Kaitlyn set the PADD down on the table beside Khan, trying to decide her approach to the question. "How many women have you loved?"

Khan raised an eyebrow. He could only think of one possibility, but he didn't want to discuss that with her at the moment. He shook his head.

It was Kaitlyn's turn to look perplexed, "Surely, women clamored for your attention when you were in power?"

Realization came over Khan, "Are you asking me how many women I've had sex with? Many - but I didn't love them."

Leonard cleared his throat as he continued to analyze the blood sample, "Ya'll are making me a bit uncomfortable with your current conversation."

"Then don't listen." Khan said flippantly as he continued to study Kaitlyn. "Love is a weakness to which enemies can use against you." he pointed out.

Kaitlyn nodded as her gaze fell on Leonard.

"Ah, I understand." Khan said. She thought if she didn't admit she loved the doctor, he would be safe. He touched her arm gently, "Just because you don't say it, doesn't mean others don't see it. Even I recognized it by the way he walked in here with you."

Kaitlyn closed her eyes tightly. Too many people to protect. Too many things to take care of. She sighed softly and opened her eyes. Her mind quickly thought back to one of the only poisons that had ever impacted her. "Trinitrogen chloride."

Khan shook his head, "It's not odorless, or tastless."

"But, I was poisoned with it a long time ago - and I drank it and didn't notice." she frowned. "Could it have been altered in some way?"

Khan moved over to where Leonard was working and started to work on one of the other computers. "But, how would it have been given to me?" he questioned.

Leonard nodded as Kaitlyn came over to stand beside him. "There are traces of it on your system." he told Khan.

"But, my body should have fought against it." Khan sighed heavily. He didn't feel it necessary to point out _again_ that he had been compromised when his blood was taken.

Leonard rubbed his temples tiredly, "Kaitlyn, I don't remember reading about that poison in any of your medical records."

"I was on an assignment for Section 31, when I was field operative. It wouldn't be in my records." she shook her head.

"Then how would anyone think it would work on Khan? All of the other things that have happened could be linked back to the information in your files." Leonard leaned back against the table. "Any one from back then still alive?"

Kaitlyn frowned, she couldn't think of anyone that would be alive that knew about that mission, except her Mother's friends that were El-Aurians. "Khan, what was the name of the doctor?" She was getting that terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"He didn't introduce himself." Khan watched as she grew pale. "Kaitlyn?"

"ELSIE, locate the doctor that treated Khan in Facility One and beam him here." she requested.

A few moment later a man with short, shocking white hair materialized about ten feet away from them.

Dr. Tolian Soran turned around and his eyes widened. "Well, this is unexpected." he chuckled softly, his British accent a bit pronounced.

Kaitlyn started walking over to him slowly, her eyes narrowed.

"You're looking very well, Kaitlyn." he smiled.

Kaitlyn punched him in his left eye and sent him landing back on his ass. "What the hell are you mixed up in?" she demanded to know and got ready to slam her foot into his stomach.

That's when Khan easily picked her up and removed her a few feet from the situation, while McCoy ran a scanner on the newcomer.

"Let me go!" she pushed back against Khan, but he wouldn't budge.

Khan gave her a small smile, "If we need to beat anything out of him, I think I should do it." He watched as she calmed down. "Now, shouldn't we allow him to try and explain?" She nodded slowly and he released his hold on her. They stood over Dr. Soran as Leonard healed his eye. Khan crossed his arms, "Explain."

XXXXX

TBC.

Reviews are greatly appreciated.

A/N: Dr. Tolian Soran is the El-Aurian from the Star Trek Movie - _Generations_. I've written about Kaitlyn's Mother's friends in the stories _The End Justifies the Means_ and _All's Fair in Love and War_.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters, only my OC - Kaitlyn Donovan.

This is the sequel to _The Ripple Effect_.

Thank you everyone that is reading/favorite/following this story - especially to Just a Crazy-Man, Emberka-2012, bonesfan4ever, IrishBug74, Silver-ShadowSpark, numom1, and dialee for the reviews!

Chapter 8 - Khan had help when he escaped from Marcus' grasp, he just didn't know who had helped him - until now.

** Broken Remnants**

Chapter 8

Doctor Tolian Soran watched as Kaitlyn and Khan stood over him, while the doctor tended to his swollen eye. "You really didn't have to punch me, Kaitlyn."

Leonard McCoy grumped, "She could have done far worse to you." he pointed out as he stopped the swelling of the man's eye. He looked the man over, "So, you're an El-Aurian - like Kaitlyn's mother?" he asked.

Dr. Soran nodded as he got off the floor and sat on the couch where the doctor guided him. "Yes, though I haven't seen Kaitlyn in over a hundred years." He looked at Kaitlyn sorrowfully, "I'm sorry about Malcolm, the way he died."

Kaitlyn looked at him sharply, her jaw tightened. Why was he bringing up her late husband? She walked a few feet away and turned away from them. She needed to move away before she lost control. She was still angry at her Mother's friends for not telling her about her heritage, when that little bit of information would have helped her. So often as a child, she had wondered why she was so different from everyone else. She took a deep breath, "Why are you bringing this up?" she questioned him quietly - to keep herself from yelling.

Soran frowned, "I just . . . I'm sorry - I liked him a lot." He noted that both men were glaring at him. "You have a rather large family." He swallowed when Khan stepped closer to get him to get to the point. "I got involved when I found out the Botany Bay had been discovered."

Kaitlyn turned around slowly.

"When your mother decided to get involved with the Eugenic Wars, we tried to stop her - tried to tell her that Earth was not ready for genetic enhancements. She surfaced a few years later, and she never talked about what happened. But, she did write about it in her journal." Soran sighed softly.

"No she didn't! I've read all of them - she never mentioned the Eugenics Wars." Kaitlyn clenched her fists.

"I have that journal. When you were born, she gave it to me. She wasn't proud of what she'd been a part of, and she didn't want you to know." Soran looked at Khan and smiled softly, "She was very proud of you for the man you were - strong, intelligent, a born leader. She wasn't pleased with what happened later. She knew you had escaped on the Botany Bay." He looked at Kaitlyn, "I started working in Admiral Marcus' program and found out he was holding Khan at the Jupiter Station. He had me run genetic tests on Khan's DNA. Unfortunately, one of his minions ran the results through the database and he found out that both of you had quite a few genetic markers that were similar." He shook his head, then looked back at Khan, "Do you remember living on the Jupiter Station now?"

Khan nodded slightly, "Vaguely - why?"

"That's where I met Doctor Rachel Reed. She was much a prisoner as Khan. I watched after her as much as I could without exposing myself to Marcus. Marcus used her and her skills to get people to do what he wanted. He threatened the rest of your family, if she didn't comply." Soran explained to Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn sank down on the nearby chair and leaned over and put her head in her hands. She felt light-headed, and nauseated. _Her family had been threatened_, and she hadn't even known about it because she was so focused on staying out of their lives.

Leonard frowned at Kaitlyn's breathing, "Kaitlyn - you alright?"

Khan shook his head, "No, she's not. Her family was threatened and she didn't know - why didn't you contact her?" he questioned Soran.

"Marcus had us all under close surveillance, everything we did was monitored. When Marcus had you put in cryostasis again, he kept all of us working on the Jupiter Station - he could monitor us better there." Soran looked at Doctor McCoy, "He had Khan and his crew transferred to the Kelvin Memorial Archives - he knew that no one would ever look for them there. Marcus kept Rachel with him, moved her office right next to his - kept guards on her the whole time, monitored and filtered all of her communications. When he decided to remove Khan from cryostatis again, he moved Rachel to the Archives." He looked at Khan, "Well, you know what happened there."

Khan took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Yes, I know what happened there. How did you get back to Earth?"

Soran grinned, "I convinced Marcus that I needed to monitor you and your crew - to make sure there was no degrading in genetics. He moved me to one of the upper levels of the Archives. When Rachel took your blood samples, she was bringing them to me."

Khan blinked rapidly, "You, you're the one she said was helping her. She said she had someone in the building planning to help her escape." He frowned, "Did you check on the cryotubes often?"

Soran nodded, "I was the only one. I knew you were putting them in the torpedoes - pretty ingenious, by the way." He watched Khan carefully, "I knew you were going to have the torpedoes moved to San Francisco to the secured weapon facility, then you were going to inspect the torpedoes and release your crew. I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't let you start another war against the humans." Soran stood up and moved closer to Kaitlyn, but stayed a few feet from her. "I was ready to get Rachel out and I told her the plan." He glanced back at Khan, "She told you the plan - didn't she?"

Khan nodded, "Yes, she did."

"Marcus was suspicious and he ordered her to go check the torpedoes that night." Soran stated.

Khan clenched his fists, "She pulled the alarm!" he yelled. "She knew . . . she knew what my family meant to me and she pulled the alarm so they would find them."

Soran nodded, "She knew that she could manipulate Marcus into not destroying your family - and she knew you would be able to escape."

Khan's eyes narrowed, "What? What do you mean?" He crossed to Soran and grabbed the man by the shirt and shook him.

Leonard frowned when Kaitlyn stood up and placed her hand on Khan's arm. He didn't know what he could do in this situation, other than just watch everything fall apart.

Kaitlyn looked at Khan as he started to calm down, "Obviously, Rachel loved you and she told you how to escape. She knew Marcus wouldn't allow her to live if she ever tried. But, she knew you'd have a chance." She took a deep breath and moved away from them. She ran her hand over the edge of the chair. She knew the sacrifices people made for the ones they loved. She should have realized that Rachel loved Khan because of what she'd said in the hospital. "Where is Rachel now?" she asked Soran as Khan let the man go. Khan then walked away from them and went back to the computers.

"I helped her escape after Khan blew up the Conference Room at Starfleet Headquarters - she was there." Soran told Khan. "She got hit in the leg by one of those shots, Kirk actually pulled her out of the line of fire." Soran turned to Khan, "When I visited the secured facility, I injected you with the poison as I took your blood sample. I knew it wouldn't really hurt you, it would just weaken you for awhile."

"When will the effects wear off?" Leonard asked.

"In another week, at most." Soran looked at Kaitlyn, "I heard you wanted to be his Advocate, and I didn't want him to be able to hurt you."

"Where is Rachel?" Khan questioned quietly.

"She's at my apartment, she's safe." Soran stated.

Kaitlyn shook her head, "She's not safe until I have all of Marcus' fanatics behind bars."

Soran smiled, "I have all the files you need on Marcus and his people at my apartment."

Kaitlyn sighed, "And when were you going to give me the files?"

"As soon as I could get to you - you've been very busy as of late." he pointed out.

Kaitlyn nodded and took a deep breath, "Tolian, I want you to go back to your apartment and get the files and have Rachel pack her stuff. I'll get her someplace safe."

Tolian Soran walked over to her, "I wish I could have done more to help."

"You did what you could at the time. Thank you." she said quietly. "ELSIE, please transport Doctor Soran to his apartment." A few moments later and he was gone.

Leonard walked over to Kaitlyn and touched her arm gently. He gave her a small squeeze when she looked at him. "This. . . this isn't what I expected. I didn't realize how much Marcus manipulated people. Look, Rachel looked like she was doing okay the other day when she visited the hospital - but she's got to be dealing with some really big issues."

Kaitlyn nodded. _Why hadn't Rachael mentioned any of this when she came to the hospital?_ Cartwright had still been loose. She looked over at Khan, who was pretending to be busy at the computer - she could tell he was distracted. She walked over and stood on the other side of the table, "Ambassador Spock had wanted to speak with you this afternoon, but I don't know if it's a good idea now."

Khan looked up sharply, "Why, because I'm mad?" he snapped.

"Yes."

Khan crossed his arms, "I'm not mad at the Ambassador." he pointed out.

"You might be after he talks to you." Kaitlyn sighed softly.

Khan shook his head, "Marcus had me read your debriefing report on Ambassador Spock's universe. Marcus was practically giddy when he learned that Nero had found the _Botany Bay_ and woken up the other 'Khan'. He was so excited when he learned the _Enterprise_ had found the ship and it blew up - and that his planted 'Khan' was the one causing havoc. He kept telling me that no one would believe I was Khan anymore." He took a deep breath to calm down - talking or thinking about Marcus always got him upset. He looked up at Kaitlyn, "Have you erased all communications from Cartwright about the location of this facility?"

"I did - no one knows where it is." she reassured him.

"Have Rachel stay here - she'll be safe." Khan suggested.

Leonard frowned, "Aren't you mad at her?" He quickly looked at Kaitlyn, she seemed to be contemplating the situation. "He could kill her!" he whispered.

Kaitlyn looked between Leonard and Khan, "I think if he'd wanted to kill her, he would have already." She stepped closer to Khan, "I'll send her over later this afternoon. You'll have to convince her to stay, I won't make her."

Khan nodded. _He needed to talk to Rachel._ He hadn't realized just how much she'd done to help him, to protect him.

Kaitlyn took another deep breath, "It seems as though your body is just going to be slower to heal for awhile longer. I'm sorry that we couldn't just fix it."

"You tried, and we gained some new insights." Khan looked over Kaitlyn, "Make sure Soran gives you your Mother's journal - he's going to leave soon." He knew the signs of a man about ready to flee.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he'll be leaving tonight." Kaitlyn smiled softly at Khan, "I've got a meeting with Captain Jacobs, then I'll bring Ambassador Spock over after lunch. You'll be fine?"

"Of course I'll be fine." Khan reiterated.

XXXXX

TBC. (A/N: Sorry this chapter is shorter than others, I just felt it should end here).

Reviews are greatly appreciated!

The back story of Khan and Rachel Reed is posted as Star Trek: 2009 - _A Shot in the Dark_.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters, only my OC - Kaitlyn Donovan.

This is the sequel to _The Ripple Effect_.

Thank you everyone that is reading/favorite/following this story - especially to Just a Crazy-Man, Emberka-2012, bonesfan4ever, IrishBug74, Silver-ShadowSpark, numom1, dialee, and weezerz2490 for the reviews!

A/N - So sorry that it has been awhile for an update to this story. Life has been busy - I went to the Trek Convention in Vegas, started a Sherlock story, and I've been busy preparing everything for my students to arrive for a new school year during the hiatus. I promise the next update will be quicker.

Chapter 9 - A Glutton for Punishment.

** Broken Remnants**

Chapter 9 - A Glutton for Punishment

Ambassador Spock walked with Kaitlyn across the paths of Starfleet Academy as they headed to another building. He recognized it as they got closer. "This is the old MACO Headquarters - it is a museum now, isn't it?" he inquired as the doors opened automatically for them.

Kaitlyn nodded, "Yes, it is a privately funded museum." She nodded to the Curator, "Is everything running smoothly today, Allen?" she questioned.

Dr. Allen Hopkins smiled, "Yes, Ma'am. We've got three tour groups coming in this afternoon."

"If you need anything, just let me know." Kaitlyn reminded him, then indicated for Ambassador Spock to head down a corridor to the lift.

The doors opened and they stepped in.

"Good afternoon, General Donovan-Reed." ELSIE's computerized voice said.

"Good afternoon ELSIE. This is Ambassador Spock, please give him Level One access." Kaitlyn stated.

"Acknowledged. Ambassador Spock, please place your hand on the display for identity confirmation." ELSIE requested.

Ambassador Spock raised his eyebrow curiously, but complied with the request. "This is most fascinating. This ELSIE is a Security system?" he asked.

The system beeped and the lift started going down.

Kaitlyn nodded, "Admiral Reed and I designed her a long time ago. This was the first building she was installed in. Everything Starfleet has built since then, has ELSIE in it - it's just that her voice automation is not active. I learned from Captain Jenkins today that her voice automation is going to be activated on the _Enterprise_ and the _Daystrom_ for field testing. If all goes well, then they'll activate her on the other ships and perhaps some buildings. The Command Council was impressed with how she interceded in the Conference room the other day." she explained. She waved for Ambassador Spock to step off the lift first. She walked across the short hall to the only door and placed her hand on the display, then she indicated for him to do the same.

The door opened into a long corridor. There was a door to the left, to the right and one at the other end. They walked down to the end of the hall and Kaitlyn had the door open. "This is a holographic room. Everything in here is a hologram, though they have mass and you can interact with them."

The room was a beach at the moment. The air was warm, though not overly hot and there was a breeze coming from the ocean as the waves came in, then quickly receded.

Ambassador Spock looked around the room slowly. _How could this be a holographic room?_ He had visited holorooms before on other planets, and they had holodecks in the other universe - though much later in the timeline. "This is highly advanced - who designed this room?" he questioned as he looked at her.

"I did - a long time ago. I originally got the ideal from the Xyrillians, that's also where I got the idea for the holographic enemies for the training facilities." Kaitlyn explained. She saw Khan approaching from down the beach, evidently he'd decided to go running. She smiled as he got closer.

Ambassador Spock looked at her curiously, "When you said you had Khan in a place no one would think to look - I did not fathom this building." he admitted. He glanced at the younger looking Khan as he slowed down his run as he got closer to them. Khan did not look quite the same as Spock remembered physically - but his eyes had the same look in them and his aura of control was blatantly evident.

Kaitlyn nodded, "That's the idea."

Khan nodded to Kaitlyn, then looked at the old Vulcan Ambassador. He could see the younger Spock he was acquainted with in this man, but he also saw the wisdom held in this one's eyes that the younger counterpart did not yet have.

"Ambassador Spock, this is Khan. Khan, this is Ambassador Spock." Kaitlyn introduced the two. "Khan, do you mind if I change the scenery to your lab?" she asked.

Khan nodded, "I'm sure the Ambassador would like to see the room change before his very eyes. It is something to behold." he told the Vulcan.

"ELSIE, please change the room to Khan's lab." Kaitlyn requested.

Ambassador Spock watched, fascinated, as the room changed instantly from a beach to a lab with computers and tables to work at, with a living room area to the side. He nodded, "Amazing. I had no idea you had designed these things - and you never once mentioned your affinity for programming such complex systems."

Kaitlyn shrugged, "It was awhile back - I don't do much programming anymore." She indicated for both men to take a seat. Ambassador Spock chose to sit in one of the plush chairs, while Khan sat on the couch - sitting on the edge, his back ramrod straight. "Tea?" she suggested.

They both nodded.

"ELSIE, 3 cups of tea - Earl Grey, hot." she requested.

Ambassador Spock smiled inwardly at her request as he remembered that Captain Jean Luc Picard delighted in the same kind of tea. He took a deep breath as memories of the other universe threatened to invade his thoughts again.

Three cups of tea on a service platter with sugar and creamer containers appeared on the coffee table in front of her. She handed a cup to Ambassador Spock, then one to Khan. She poured creamer and sugar in hers, then picked it up and sat down on the same couch as Khan.

Kaitlyn watched as the two men studied each other. "Shall I begin the conversation?" she offered. At their nods, she smiled. "Ambassador Spock, you requested to meet Khan - I believe you are curious as to why Khan has been so helpful in the past few days, am I correct?" she raised an eyebrow at the Vulcan.

Ambassador Spock gave her a slight nod. He turned his attention to this young Khan, "I realize that my younger counterpart made you to believe that he had destroyed your family - undoubtedly you were angry and you have every right to be. Why are you being helpful?" he questioned Khan.

Khan watched the old Vulcan, "Why does it matter to you?" he countered.

Ambassador Spock took a slow breath, "The Khan I knew would stop at nothing to destroy Captain Kirk and his crew to get revenge - yet you have been helpful. I am wondering whether this sincerity is real, or if you are merely manipulating Kaitlyn so that you can get your revenge later?"

Khan set his cup down and placed his hands on his knees. "Truthfully, until Kaitlyn spoke to me and told me that my family was safe and still in their cryotubes, I did want to destroy Commander Spock and anyone that tried to stop me. The fact that my family is still alive and that Kaitlyn is my Advocate gives me hope that I may be reunited with my family again. Admiral Marcus had said that if I helped him design the ship and the weapons, he would settle us on a remote planet to live out our lives. I seriously doubted that he would ever carry out that deal - but I am hoping it is a possibility." he explained. He looked at Kaitlyn, "The fact that Kaitlyn and I share some genetic similarities, and that her Mother is a commonality between us allows me to trust her more so than others."

Kaitlyn gave Khan a small smile. He had been treating her like a protective older brother and she really didn't mind. They both had a strong streak of protectiveness for their family and friends.

"Does this trust you have only extend to Kaitlyn?" Ambassador Spock inquired.

Khan nodded, "No one else has been as honest as she, nor have they not used me in some capacity."

The older Vulcan nodded thoughtfully, "If you and your family were allowed to settle on a remote planet, what would you do?"

"We would begin again. Start over with our lives." Khan explained easily.

"You were engineered to dominate, to control, to rule. Would you be satisfied with just living a normal life?" Ambassador Spock watched as the young Augment closed his eyes briefly.

Khan opened his eyes and looked at the Vulcan directly. "I believe we would be fine if we did not have to worry about being manipulated any more. Since we were created, we have been manipulated repeatedly. First by the scientists that created us, then by the governments that wanted us to bring peace to the world forcibly. After we did what was expected of us, they wanted us to give up the power we had obtained. Then we were tried for crimes against humanity by the very people that had us engineered. I have since then been manipulated by Admiral Marcus. Yes, I think a remote planet away from Earth would be best for us."

Ambassador Spock contemplated what Khan said as he sipped his tea. _Would it be best to allow them to settle on a remote planet? _They would have to be remotely monitored to ensure a repeat from his universe did not happen. _Would the Augments really adjust, or would they eventually want to find a way to escape the planet and conquer again?_ "What if Starfleet decides to not release your family from cryostasis? What if they condemn you back to that condition? Will you accept their verdict?"

Khan winced, "I would not be pleased. I would ask they just turn off the units and allow us to die. Being in cryostasis is not living - we might as well be dead. Besides, if someone else releases us later - who's to say they won't use us against the humans?" he pointed out.

"You have a wife in cryostasis? Other blood related family?" Ambassador Spock asked.

Khan frowned, "I have read articles that implied I had a wife - I did not. There is no one else of my people that share the same genetic similarities as I, so no - I do not have any blood related family. Though I consider all of them my family, and I will protect them as such."

"I understand the desire you have to preserve your people, but what will happen when they begin to die? Your females were engineered sterile, if I remember correctly." the Vulcan said softly.

"That is correct. I do not know what we will do. If we are left to our own devices, we will eventually die out. It is something that we as a people must contemplate." Khan stated.

Ambassador Spock was surprised by the way Khan spoke. He did not speak like a dictator, perhaps his time amongst the humans of this time period had influenced a change in him. The self-preservation of his people had become paramount for Khan - not domination. He looked at Kaitlyn. She obviously trusted Khan and she had no reservations about being around him without any guards. If Khan was not sincere and this was just a trick, then he was a better actor than any he had ever seen. He believed that Khan was sincere - that he just wanted his family safe and to be left alone. Ambassador Spock nodded, "I will express my support for you and your family to be allowed to settle on a remote planet. I hope that if it is granted, you can convince your people to live peacefully."

Khan gave the Vulcan a slight nod, "Your support is appreciated." Khan didn't really understand why the old Vulcan would be on his side. By all accounts, Spock should hate him with a vengeance - not only for what happened in his universe, but for what had happened here in the past week. Maybe the older Vulcan understood it was time to stop dredging up the past, time to stop fighting, time to let bygones be just that. It was time to move on. Khan was willing to do just that - as long as Starfleet let go of their hold on his people. If they didn't let his people go, he wasn't sure what he'd do. Khan looked at the Ambassador as he stood up. Khan followed suit.

Ambassador Spock nodded to Kaitlyn then looked at Khan, "This has been a very unique and enlightening conversation. Thank you for the opportunity."

Kaitlyn looked at Ambassador Spock, "Could you wait for me by the lift? I'll be there shortly."

Ambassador Spock nodded, then left the room.

Kaitlyn looked over Khan, "With Ambassador Spock's support, your chances of being with your family has just increased." She frowned slightly, "I spoke with Rachel a little while ago. While she insists that she is fine, I know she is not. She would not tell me everything she had been subjected to in the past two and a half years, but I think that's because she's not ready to talk about it. Khan, I feel guilty for not knowing that she was being held against her will and threatened. I don't want her harmed any further. If you are going to lash out at her, I don't think it would do her any good to see you."

Khan watched Kaitlyn, "I am upset that she pulled the alarm, but I did not know that she was trying to protect my family and give me a way to escape. I need to speak to her. I will not harm her." he promised.

Kaitlyn nodded, "I'll have her transported in a few minutes. I think it would be best if she stays here with you - if you ask and she says yes, I'll have her belongings transported." She looked at him again and smiled as she patted his arm, "I have a Sending Off tonight, but I'll be back tomorrow morning."

Khan gave her a small smile, "We will be fine." He looked on as Kaitlyn left the room.

He hoped that Rachel would agree to stay. Through all of his time in the Kelvin Archives, she'd always been helpful to him and always looked after him. He knew she'd been a prisoner as well, he just hadn't realized just how much Marcus had controlled her before they were at the Archives. It angered him that while he had been put back into cryostais for the _Vengeance_ to be constructed, she'd been subjected to Marcus' whims. He took a deep breath to calm down. He didn't want Rachel to think he was angry at her.

XXXXX

Rachel Reed took a deep breath after she materialized in a short hall. A lift was behind her and a single door was in front of her. She wanted to apologize to Khan in person, but did she really want to be that close to him again? He'd caused her to question herself at times -caused her to feel things she kept buried because she didn't want to get hurt again.

"Good afternoon, Commander Rachel Reed. Please place your hand on the display for identity confirmation." a computerized voice instructed.

Rachel did as requested and the door opened to a long corridor. "Where is Khan?" she inquired.

"Khan is in his lab. Proceed straight ahead to the door." the computer replied.

The last time she'd seen Khan, he'd threatened to tear her apart because she had pulled the alarm. She'd regretted doing it when she realized what he'd done, that he was trying to save his crew and get them away from Marcus. That's why she convinced Marcus to not destroy the cryotubes. She knew that Khan would come back if Marcus told him they were still alive. She had the next door open.

Khan was sitting on a stool at a computer, analyzing data on the monitor. He looked up when he heard the door open. He hadn't expected her this quickly. He stood up as she approached. She looked tired - exhausted, really. A wide range of emotions crashed through him. He was angry that she'd pulled the alarm, but grateful that she'd protected his family. He yearned for the compatible working relationship they'd had before that faithful day, but he actually wanted more than just a working relationship with her. He'd been attracted to her - even enjoyed teasing her before, but he hadn't been in the position to tell her or act upon his wants because they had been monitored twenty-four hours a day. "I didn't know if you'd come." he admitted.

Rachel knew it was a calculated risk. "I needed to apologize to you. If you decide to carry out your threat and tear me apart . . ." she shrugged, "perhaps I deserve it." she said softly as she stood just a few feet away from him.

Khan watched her carefully and waited.

Rachel huffed in exasperation. She thought he'd at least counter her comment with some type of remark. But, he was just standing there - waiting for an apology. He could be such a Neanderthal! She took a deep breath, "I am sorry that I pulled the alarm and alerted them to what you were doing with the cryotubes." She glanced down at her hands, "If you'd just told me what you were doing . . . " she sighed softly.

Khan quickly closed the distance between them. He resisted the urge to grab her chin and make her look at him. "What if I'd told you? What would you have done?" he demanded an answer from her.

Rachel could feel his warm breath on her. She looked up slowly and held his gaze, "I would have helped you."

Khan's eyes narrowed as he watched over her expression for a few moments, trying to ascertain her truthfulness. He stepped back and turned away. She couldn't be speaking the truth - could she? "You gave no such indications previously." he pointed out and held onto the edge of the desk to keep himself from throwing objects around the room.

Rachel touched his shoulder and could feel his muscles coiling - ready to spring on her. She quickly allowed him to see their encounters from her point of view. "Didn't I?" she questioned softly.

Khan saw in his mind their encounters from her point of view while they lived and worked in the Archives. He saw the subtle nuances, the innuendos she'd been implying the last few months they'd worked together. He could also tell that she was attracted to him, but she hesitated to let him know because she'd gotten in trouble with him before - at the secret facility near Jupiter. _Why couldn't he remember everything from that time? _He knew he'd been drugged, but he could usually overcome any drug that entered his system eventually. He blinked as the memories stopped as she removed her hand. He turned around to look at her. "You've inherited some of your great grandmother's other abilities?" he surmised.

Rachel shrugged, "I just thought I was an anomaly - until I found out about her heritage the other day."

He watched her carefully, "Thank you for convincing Marcus to spare my crew."

"They are more than just your crew, I knew that. You're welcome." she nodded, then turned to leave.

"You could stay here and help me with this research." he indicated the computers.

Rachel stopped. That tone in his voice - she recognized it. _He wanted something._ She turned to him and raised an eyebrow in question.

"Kaitlyn has me researching a few things - you could help. Unless you have something better to do." Khan said.

It was almost as if he were daring her to say no. Rachel was well aware that Khan knew how to get what he wanted. She smiled slowly and decided to play along and find out his motivation. "I'd be happy to help with the investigation." She chose her words carefully. She made it clear she wasn't doing this for his sake.

Khan nodded and explained what he was researching. She'd always been quick on the uptake when he'd explained what weapons he'd been working on and she was still just as quick thinking.

They worked quietly near each other on separate computers for awhile. Khan surreptitiously watched her as she worked diligently. "Kaitlyn is concerned for your safety - I suggested to her that you stay here in the other suite." he stated nonchalantly as he continued to work.

Rachel looked at him. _Why would he want her to stay here?_ Was it just because he missed being able to control her? Though she had been as much a prisoner as Khan in the Archives because of Marcus, she'd had to spend all of her time there with Khan. When he decided to go to the Assembly room - she had to go with him. When he went to eat in the Cafeteria - she had to go with him. The only time she'd really had to herself was when she slept. "Why?" she questioned him quietly.

"Because I don't want you harmed." Khan stated as he looked at her. He grew concerned as she turned her face away from him.

Rachel closed her eyes. She cared for him - she more than just cared for him. While they had worked in the Archives she had to keep her feelings from Khan because Marcus had threatened to kill her himself if she acted on her feelings again. She didn't think she could be around Khan and not act on her impulses. Khan didn't care for her and she didn't think her heart could take anymore rejections.

Khan touched her arm, "I've started to remember a few things about the station near Jupiter." he stated.

Rachel looked at him, a mixture of curiousness and trepidation coming over her.

"We were very close." Khan pointed out and watched as she blushed. "More than close - intimate. Why didn't you remind me when we were at the Archives?" _Why had she acted as if nothing had happened between them previously? Did she really not care for him? Had she just been using him?_

Rachel frowned, "He threatened to kill me, to kill you, to destroy my family." She tried to smile as she shrugged, "No matter how much I care for you, I couldn't give him reason to hurt my family."

_Marcus._ He should have known. "He can't hurt you anymore." Khan stated firmly. He hadn't missed that she used present tense when she admitted she cared for him.

"I know - thank you for that." Rachel nodded. Perhaps she'd be able to sleep if she stayed here - she always felt safe when he was around. _She must be a glutton for punishment._ "I'll stay." she agreed.

XXXXX

TBC.

The back story of Khan and Rachel is titled - _A Shot in the Dark_, found under Star Trek: 2009.

Reviews are greatly appreciated!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters, only my OC - Kaitlyn Donovan.

This is the sequel to _The Ripple Effect_.

Thank you everyone that is reading/favorite/following this story - especially to Just a Crazy-Man, Emberka-2012, bonesfan4ever, IrishBug74, Silver-ShadowSpark, numom1, dialee, weezerz2490, SGAmvmm and vesna for the reviews!

Chapter 10 - The Gathering Storm.

** Broken Remnants**

Chapter 10 - The Gathering Storm

Rachel looked up as Khan came back from the other side of the room with two trays of food.

He set it down on one of the empty counter height tables and indicated for her to come over.

"Where did this come from?" she questioned as she sat down on one of the stools.

"Meals are transported in when I order them on the monitor." Khan explained as he sat down beside her. "I will show you later, so you can order what you want next time."

Rachel nodded, "Thank you." she said softly as she started to eat.

They ate in silence. When they were finished, he carried the trays back to the table they were transported onto. At some time later, they would be transported away.

Khan watched as she looked around the room slowly - like she didn't know what to do. He kept watching as she walked over to the couch. Then he noticed it. _Her leg_ - she was favoring her left leg slightly. He frowned. He had caused her injury when he'd shot up the Conference Room.

At the time, he hadn't cared who he killed. He'd just wanted to get back at Marcus and kill the man for destroying his family. He'd thought the Admiral had disposed of his family after he'd escaped. He hadn't known that Rachel had managed to persuade the Admiral to keep them alive.

Khan walked over and sat in one of the chairs, "How is your injury healing?" he questioned.

Rachel had absently been rubbing her thigh and stopped. "It is healing - the muscles are just really tight." she explained.

"I did not know you were there."

Rachel shrugged slightly, "There was no reason for you to assume so. Admiral Marcus kept me close by him. He knew you'd come after him next."

"Why did he keep you with him?" Khan raised an eyebrow.

"He mistakenly assumed that he could use me against you - if you got too close to him." Rachel frowned. "I tried to tell him that I didn't matter to you - not after what I'd done." She looked away. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She glanced back at him, "I know you probably don't want me here, but thank you for letting me stay." She stood up gently, "I think I'm going to turn in, I haven't been sleeping well. Good night, Khan."

He watched as she walked to the door, "Good night, Rachel."

She paused when he replied. She knew he'd never apologize for injuring her, and he wouldn't counter her statement she'd made to Marcus. Ultimately, he really didn't care about her - only his crew. She had just been a fling on the Jupiter station, and just a companion during their stay in the basement of the Kelvin Archives. She didn't look back at him. She let out another breath slowly, then continued to her quarters.

XXXXX

Sending Off Party, _U.S.S. Daystrom_

Kaitlyn smiled as the evening came to a close and the guests started to leave.

Those that were leaving the _Daystrom_ had said a few words to their fellow crew members about how they had enjoyed working with them and would miss being on this very unique ship. Then, a few of the crew members had shared stories about some of the funny, and also the challenging times they had all had in the past eleven months. Captain Jacobs had said a few kind words about each of them, then he'd expressed his gratitude to Kaitlyn for being Acting Captain while he was in a coma. He'd relayed that they would all be missed and he wished them well.

Leonard McCoy watched across the room as Kaitlyn spoke for a few minutes to newly promoted First Contact Officer Commander Piper.

Commander Spock looked at the Doctor curiously, "I think she will be missed on this ship - she seems to have made a rather large imprint on them." he stated. "Did you know that Starfleet Command offered her the position of First Officer of the _Daystrom_?"

Leonard shook his head slightly, "No, but I know they offered her old job back to her."

Commander Spock raised a curious eyebrow, "The Head of Section 31?" He thought over the offer. "It is not surprising, since they have found out her true identity and she is investigating the Section at the moment." He analyzed the Doctor's perplexed expression, "And yet, she turned down both offers to re-join the _Enterprise_ as the First Contact Officer." Surely the Doctor realized why she'd made the choice she did. He decided to state his mind this once, "It is not often that we are with women who would sacrifice everything for us."

Leonard McCoy looked at the Vulcan First Officer skeptically - was he really expressing his human-half's feelings, or was he just pointing out what Bones already knew? It had to have been fate that put Kaitlyn in Leonard's path at the Academy - nothing else could explain how his life had become really worth living. She was what he thought of when he first woke up, the thought of her even brightened his day when she hadn't even been on the _Enterprise_, and she was the last thing he thought of before he fell asleep at night. He nodded to the Vulcan, "Good night, Spock." He started to walk across the room to Kaitlyn. He was scared, he admitted to himself. He'd never known a woman that was willing to turn down promotions, just to be with him. He stopped walking abruptly. _What if he was holding her back?_ What if, in a few months into their mission, she grew tired of him - or worse, he did something to push her away? He sat down in the nearest chair and ran his hands through his hair. He shook his head and closed his eyes as he tried to sort out what he was supposed to do now.

He glanced to his right as someone sat down beside him.

Doctor Kor gave Leonard a slight nod. "This was a good evening. It's not how we usually send off our warriors, but I don't suppose most people here could stomach it." the Klingon Doctor added with a shrug.

Leonard sat up and took a deep breath, "What do you do?" He'd grown to like the Klingon. He was a very experienced doctor and he cared a great deal about his patients.

"After having a meal and a lot of blood wine. We fight and give each other scars to remember the other. Of course, as a doctor - I just patch the warriors off and send them on their way." Kor gave the human doctor a large grin.

"I think I like our way better." Leonard smiled softly. He realized this might be the last time he'd see Kor. "You said once she'd threatened to gouge your eyes out - why did she do that?"

Kor chuckled and glanced quickly at Kaitlyn to make sure she was far enough away to not overhear their conversation. He leaned in closer, "She'd come in, right after we'd found out we were heading back to Earth to meet up with the _Enterprise_, and requested her birth control dosage to be increased. I'd made an insinuating comment, she retorted, I teased her, then she threatened to gouge my eyes out if I didn't comply and drop the subject." he shrugged. Kor looked at Doctor McCoy, "She is a hard person to get close to - she's very protective of her heart."

Leonard nodded, "I don't know how I managed to catch her interest."

Kor popped Leonard on the back, "Because you are a good man, and a great doctor." The Klingon stood up, "It has been an honor to work with you this past week. I hope both of our missions are successful and that we will see each other again." He shook Leonard's hand, then left.

Leonard McCoy gave Kaitlyn a small smile as she headed over to him.

"Ready to go?" she inquired.

They walked down the corridors and headed to her quarters.

Kaitlyn stood near the couch and looked around slowly. Everything had already been packed away and transported to her quarters on the _Enterprise_, all she had here was her overnight bag and her photos that lined the coffee table. Suddenly, she felt tired. Not physically - but mentally. Once again she'd managed to make friends with another crew. She'd tried so hard to keep them at arm's length, but it hadn't worked. She cared too much about other peoples' well-being to be that standoffish. And now she was leaving them. Her heart started to hurt.

Leonard caught her as she sank to the floor. "Kaitlyn! What's wrong?" he questioned her worriedly as he held her in his arms.

Kaitlyn sighed tiredly as she tried to contain her overwhelming urge to just breakdown and cry. "I'd just forgotten how much it hurt to say good bye." She closed her eyes briefly and tried to center herself. She opened her eyes and gave him a small smile when she saw the look of confusion on his face. She traced the worry lines on his forehead and watched as his tension slowly eased up. "Before I met you - I had been lonely for a very long time. I hadn't let anyone worm their way in my heart. But, since I met you, I've let people get close - and I'd forgotten just how much it hurts to lose them." she admitted.

"You're not losing them, we might even meet up with the _Daystrom_ again when we're on our mission." he pointed out. "You can still comm them. It's not like you're going to be alone."

Kaitlyn nodded. She caressed his cheek gently, "I thought I was destined to be alone for the rest of my life. You've made me realize that I don't have to be alone. I love you, Leonard."

Leonard pulled her closer and kissed her lips urgently. He didn't want her to be alone anymore. He didn't want to be alone anymore. She completed him - made him want to keep on living. He'd been mad as heck at Admiral Marcus when he shot at the _Enterprise_ - not because he was about to kill them all to keep his mistakes from getting out, but because Leonard hadn't told Kaitlyn just how much he cared for her. His heart was soaring. He pulled back slightly and grinned, "I love you too, Kaitlyn. I'm sorry that I didn't say it before you left for the _Daystrom_, but I don't think I knew just how much. . ."

Kaitlyn put her finger over his lips to stop him. "Please don't apologize. Until Khan pointed something out to me today, I didn't think I ever could admit that I loved someone again." She removed her finger, then ran her hand through his hair and smiled. "I've missed being with you. Just being with you." She knew it sounded silly, but it was the truth. How she wished they could just go away for a few days. Maybe after everything settled down they could take some time off.

Leonard smiled and kissed her forehead, then stood up - taking her with him. She loved _him - _Leonard McCoy - the broken man that acted gruff to people because he didn't want to get hurt again.

Kaitlyn grinned as she leaned her head on his chest and just listened to his strong heartbeat. She snuck her hands under his uniform jacket and shirt and ran them over his sides.

Leonard's eyes narrowed, his thoughts immediately contemplated ravishing her right here. "Can I help you?" he questioned as he cleared his throat.

Kaitlyn ran her hands over his strong back muscles and pulled him closer to her, "Yes, I think you can." she gave him a small smile and kissed him.

XXXXX

The three middle-aged men sat in the back of the bar at a secluded table.

"What did you find out?" the raven-haired man asked the other two.

"We don't know where they're hiding Khan. Seems the only person that knows the location is Commander Donovan." the blonde-haired man stated. "She is his Advocate, maybe she'll let us talk to him."

The raven-haired man frowned, "She's a puppet of Starfleet - a _First Contact Officer_, not even a real qualified Advocate. He will get a farce of a trial - they're still keeping his true identity a secret because the world would be appalled at what Marcus did and blame Starfleet. They'll condemn him to death, or worse yet, they'll keep him locked up and experiment on him."

"Then we need to make Donovan tell us where he is. What can we use against her?" the brown-haired man questioned his comrades.

The blonde shook his head, "Her files are all sealed. She did look pretty chummy to that doctor from the _Enterprise_." he pointed out as he remembered seeing them exit Starfleet Medical a few days ago.

"Try to find out more about them, see if she really cares about him. If she does, we'll snatch him and make her take us to Khan." the raven-haired man directed.

The brown-haired man frowned, "Even if we get to him - are you sure Khan will help us?" he questioned the raven-haired man.

The raven-haired man nodded firmly, "He will."

The blonde-haired man stood up, "I've got to go, I've been called up to work at Medical tomorrow." He turned and left the other two men at the table. He frowned as he was bumped into by a group of young Starfleet cadets coming in the bar.

"Sorry about that Doctor Miles." one of the cadets apologized.

Doctor Erik Miles gave the cadet a small smile, "It's alright. Don't stay out too late."

Cadet Ronin grinned at their genetics professor from the Academy, "See you Monday." He went to join his friends at the table in front of the vid screen.

XXXXX

Rachel Reed reached over and turned off her alarm as it went off. She closed her eyes and rolled back over. She'd slept so well.

"You're not going to go back to sleep - are you?" a familiar voice asked her.

Rachel smiled as she opened her eyes.

Khan was there, sitting on top of her covers and leaning against her headboard - reading a PADD. This was the same thing he'd done every morning when they'd lived in the basement of the Archives. He handed her a bottle of water.

"Are we going to be working out this morning?" she inquired as she sat up slowly and raised an eyebrow at him. He'd always handed her a bottle of water on the mornings they worked out in the gym.

"Yes - you need to strengthen the muscles in your injured leg." he pointed out as he got off her bed.

Rachel nodded slowly. Did he feel slightly guilty for injuring her, or was this just an empty platitude? "I don't want to be re-injured." she stated firmly - her body hurt bad enough as it was.

Khan watched her closely, "I will not have you do anything that will re-injure it."

Rachel got out of bed and headed to her bathroom, "I'll be ready in a few minutes."

Khan quickly made her bed, then headed to the other room and had the lab program change to the gym he'd created. He had seen her hesitate - did she think he wanted her to be re-injured? He hadn't apologized for his actions that had injured her and killed many others in the Conference Room, but she knew he didn't apologize when he thought he was justified. He glanced at the door as she came in wearing her running shorts and tank top.

She walked over to him slowly as she took in all of the equipment. Many of them she recognized as equipment she'd worked out on before in the Archives, but there were a few others that she was unfamiliar with. "What do you have in store for me today?" she questioned as she stopped in front of him.

Khan kneeled down and pulled out a medical scanner and quickly ran it over her leg. He frowned, her muscles and ligaments had been shortened slightly because of the damage - that's why they felt tight. He put the scanner down on the floor, then used his hands to gently feel the tightness in her thigh. He held her in place when she instinctively tried to back away from him.

Rachel stood stiffly when Khan kept her from moving. She tried to keep her panic from rising. She closed her eyes tightly and clenched her fists.

Khan glanced up as he rubbed her leg gently to ease the tension in her injured leg. She was in a full blown panic. He quickly stood up and ran the scanner over her whole body. His scowl deepened. She wasn't just recovering from an injured leg. She had multiple injuries from a few months ago that were still very evident. _A few months ago_ - when he'd escaped. He should have realized that Marcus would have her interrogated, to see if she'd helped him or knew where he was going. He put the scanner back in his pocket, then gently held her upper arms when she swayed slightly from locking her knees.

Rachel opened her eyes slowly as she tried to calm down.

Khan brushed his thumb over her cheek, "Who interrogated you?" he asked softly.

Rachel worried her lower lip as she looked down. _Of course he'd figure out what was wrong._ She'd rather just forget about that week. "It doesn't matter now." she frowned.

Khan tilted her chin up to make her look at him, "It matters to me." He watched as she glanced away from his gaze. "Rachel?" he requested an answer more firmly this time.

"Cartwright." She hissed as she pushed away from him. "He was finally allowed to take his anger out on me and not have to worry about bruises showing." she yelled. She turned around and looked at all of the stupid equipment. Like working out before had helped her? Cartwright had managed to overpower her in just three well placed hits. She felt her anger starting to rise again. _She'd been so stupid._ Stupid to think that he would just question her and not interrogate her. She picked up one of the hand weights and threw it across the room at the mirrored wall. The impact caused the mirror to crack. She picked up another weight and threw it harder and the mirror shattered, sending glass shards across the room at a high velocity.

"ELSIE, end program!" Khan demanded as he saw the mirror begin to shatter. He quickly pulled her back and shielded her with his body, just in case the program didn't end fast enough.

Rachel looked up as the room was quiet. Khan was holding her protectively and frowning slightly.

He looked down at her, "That was not a wise thing to do."

Rachel stepped back and looked around, the room had changed back to his lab. "I didn't think it through." she said softly and wrapped her arms around her chest.

Khan had never seen her let her anger loose like that - she'd always contained it before. "You have every right to be angry."

She shook her head, "I don't want to be angry anymore. I've been angry for three years - I'm tired of being angry." she admitted quietly.

Khan nodded. _He understood._ He watched as some of her tension released and she dropped her defensive stance. "I think we should do some breathing exercises, then some stretching."

Rachel gave him a small smile as she took a deep, calming breath. He wasn't going to coddle her, he wasn't going to hold her hand and tell her that everything would be alright. But, he would help her get stronger - and that's what she needed right now. "Okay."

XXXXX

TBC.

Reviews are greatly appreciated!


End file.
